It was last fall that Florida Chief of Surgeons Joseph Ladapo added to his list of questionable statements: A controversial doctor said men aged 18 to 39 were using the commonly used mRNA Covid vaccine recommended avoiding, and pointed out possible health risks that trusted experts said. exist in reality. In fact, Radapo completely reversed the conclusions of the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
David Gorsky, a surgical oncologist and anti-vaccine nonsense debunker, said, “This is the first time we’ve seen a state government weaponize bad science to spread anti-vaccine disinformation as official policy.” He went on to describe the move from Florida’s Surgeon General as “a dangerous new escalation of anti-vaccine propaganda.”
Lapad’s move was widely viewed as provocative at the time, but things have gone from bad to worse. Politico reported yesterday:
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Radapo last year personally modified a state-led study on a Covid-19 vaccine, with some doses established by the wider medical community, according to newly obtained documents. Ladapo’s changes, announced as part of a request for public records, suggest that the risk of cardiac death is more severe than in previous versions of the study. I showed that.
The study originally concluded that there were no significant risks associated with Covid vaccines for young men, although neither state Surgeon General has denied it, according to the report. Radapo did not like these findings and replaced them with opposite conclusions.
When asked to explain, the Florida doctor claimed to have the right level of expertise to translate scientific consensus into his own beliefs. From the Politico article:
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Florida have tracked the issue closely after seeing Radapo’s compilation of the study, and criticized the public health director for making the change. One said that Radapo appears to have changed the study out of political rather than scientific concerns.
For those who need a refresher, it seems like a good time to remind people that it’s hard to defend Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to pick Radapo for the leadership post from the start. Former UCLA supervisor in Radapo urged Florida officials to hire a controversial doctor, explaining that he relied more on his opinions than on scientific evidence. A UCLA supervisor added that Radapo’s bizarre theories “created a stressful environment for his research and clinical colleagues and subordinates,” among them doctors. Some believed he had “violated the obligation of the Hippocratic Oath to act honestly and ethically.”
It wasn’t the first time Radapo’s work at UCLA came under scrutiny. It was during his tenure in California that the doctor claimed in a USA Today op-ed that his views on Covid treatment were shaped by his experience “caring for COVID-19 patients at UCLA’s flagship hospital.” bottom. Two weeks later, Radapo added in an editorial in The Wall Street Journal that she had experience “caring for patients with suspected or diagnosed Covid-19 infection at UCLA.”
These claims have been called into question, thanks to a report from The Rachel Maddow Show. As my colleague Kay Guerrero explained in a November report, “Several of Dr. Joseph Radapo’s former colleagues … said he misled the public about his experiences treating Covid-19 patients. I have.”
A UCLA source also said, referring to Radapo: At the same time, I don’t want this for the people of Florida. They don’t deserve to have someone like him making health decisions. ”
The report followed Radapo’s press conference where he was critical of Covid testing.
A few months ago, Radapo questioned the effectiveness of the Covid vaccine, denounced the need for it, cited unsubstantiated conspiracy theories against the vaccine, and actually followed public health officials’ guidance. Encouraged Floridians to “stick to their intuition.” i know what they are talking about.
As regular readers may recall, it was around the same time that Radapo began pushing for “innovative” Covid treatments with little track record of success, frustrating state doctors and medical professionals. .
Before taking office, doctors spent much of the pandemic questioning the value of vaccines and the efficacy of masks, while promoting ineffective treatments such as hydroxychloroquine.
The Orlando Sentinel editorial board described Radapo as a “COVID crank” and “is associated with right-wing medical groups, including those who believe that infertility and miscarriage are the result of having sex with demons and witches.” I explained. In a dream. ”
Taking a step back, the question is not whether Radapo has reliability issues. It’s painfully obvious that he’s a difficult man to take seriously. What is DeSantis planning to do now in response to such exposure?
This post is our Related previous reports.