Tipsheet

Psaki Lobs a Label on Florida's Top Doctor, Omitting His Real Background

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  March 07, 2022 4:30 PM

On Monday, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced healthy children should not be vaccinated for Wuhan coronavirus. 

"[Florida] is going to be the first state to officially recommend against the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children," Dr. Ladapo said during a roundtable. 

When asked about the decision at the White House daily briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki launched into a verbal attack on Dr. Ladapo, calling him a politician and conspiracy theorist. 

But Dr. Ladapo is a Harvard-educated doctor with extensive medical experience. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis highlighted Dr. Ladapo's biography when he appointed him as Florida's surgeon general in September 2021. 

Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD, is a physician and health policy researcher whose primary research interests include clinical trial interventions and reducing the population burden of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Ladapo was recently granted a professorship at the University of Florida (UF) College of Medicine. Prior to joining UF, he was an Associate Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine caring for hospitalized patients. Previously, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Population Health at NYU School of Medicine and as a Staff Fellow at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Ladapo’s research program, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, focuses on patient-centered approaches to improving the health of individuals evaluated for coronary artery disease; and behavioral economic interventions to promote sustainable cardiovascular health, including among adults with HIV. He also leads the health economic and quality of life evaluation of multiple NIH-funded randomized trials focused on cardiovascular disease and tobacco cessation. His national honors include the Daniel Ford Award for health services and outcomes research, and he was also a regular columnist for the Harvard Focus during medical school and residency, where he discussed his experiences on the medical wards and perspectives on health policy issues.

Dr. Ladapo graduated from Wake Forest University and received his MD from Harvard Medical School and his PhD in Health Policy from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He completed his clinical training in internal medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Dr. Ladapo was born in Nigeria. He immigrated to the United States when he was 5 years old, along with his family, as his father, a microbiologist, came to the country to continue his studies.

DeSantis' office is responding to the smears.

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