DeSantis hires a new surgeon general: A hydroxychloroquine pusher who appeared in ‘demon sperm’ doc’s video
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking at the 2021 Student Action Summit, hosted by Turning Point USA at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, responsible for one of the worst COVID-19 responses in the nation, has just announced his new Surgeon General, Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD, a UCLA Medical Center physician and health policy researcher who appeared in the viral "Demon Sperm" quack doctor's video that advocated the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19.
Today, I appointed Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD as Florida Surgeon General and Secretary of the Florida Department of Health. He has a remarkable academic and medical career, and will bring great leadership to @healthyFla. Watch:https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=461972724929378\u00a0\u2026— Ron DeSantis (@Ron DeSantis) 1632243917
NEW: Florida\u2019s new Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, was a strong proponent of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID. \n\nHe was in a viral video - now removed from social media - discussing his belief that the drug helps COVID patients. \n\nHere\u2019s a portion pic.twitter.com/xPzfMKmEud— Jay O'Brien (@Jay O'Brien) 1632243458
Dr. Ladapo appears to be anti-mask, pro-ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, and against mass vaccinating the public against the coronavirus which to date has now killed over 675,000 Americans.
For example, in one of his many op-eds, mostly published in the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Lapado says it's "reasonable" for parents to not want to, or to be skeptical of vaccinating their children. In February he hinted that the vaccine might not be safe for pregnant women, calling for "humility about areas of uncertainty—such as vaccination in pregnant women." CDC guidance now urges them to be vaccinated. Studies show pregnant women who contract coronavirus are 10, 15, and even 22 times more likely to die if unvaccinated.
"Tools for stopping variants are limited and, like masks and distancing, vaccines are not a panacea," Dr. Ladapo also wrote in February.
Ron Desantis today appoints UCLA professor Joseph Ladapo as FL\u2019s new Surgeon General. He goes across the country to bring in an anti-mask, anti-vaccine guy who is required to start every interview with \u201cmy views are my own and not those of UCLA.\u201dpic.twitter.com/wayDqmP2R0— Ron Filipkowski (@Ron Filipkowski) 1632245653
In an April op-ed, "An American Epidemic of 'Covid Mania'," he wrote: "The problem isn't only the overreaction to the virus but the diminution of every other problem."
In June he asked, "Are Covid Vaccines Riskier Than Advertised?" despite billions of people worldwide having been vaccinated with almost no lasting negative side effects.
Dr. Ladapo appeared in a viral video social media companies removed from their platforms in 2020, a video that received millions of views in part thanks to then-President Donald Trump. It featured "a group that has dubbed itself America's Frontline Doctors, standing on the steps of the Supreme Court and claiming that neither masks nor shutdowns are necessary to fight the pandemic, despite a plethora of expertise to the contrary," as The Washington Post reported.
The lead physician, Stella Immanuel, "has a history of making particularly outlandish statements — including that the uterine disorder endometriosis is caused by sex with demons that takes place in dreams."
That led phrases like "demon semen," and "demon sperm" to take over social media.
Rolling Stone, profiling the physicians who appeared in the video, including Ladapo, called them "COVID-19 Truthers."
