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DeSantis Taps Anti-Mask Vax Skeptic to Be Florida’s Next Surgeon General

Among his more insane claims, Dr. Joseph Ladapo claimed that eating fruit was just as important in the fight against COVID as getting vaccinated.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled his pick for the next surgeon general of the Sunshine State on Tuesday and it’s a doozy. The Miami Herald reports that Dr. Joseph Ladapo, an anti-mask, vaccine-skeptical, Harvard-trained researcher, is set to replace Dr. Scott Rivkees, who inexplicably faded from public view before quitting recently. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Ladapo falsely wrote that the risks of the COVID-19 vaccine “may outweigh the benefits for certain low-risk populations, such as children, young adults and people who have recovered from COVID-19.” On Tuesday, he called it “senseless” to prioritize vaccinations over everything else, adding that he prefers “personal choice” over mask or vaccine mandates and is proposing a vague strategy that will “reject fear as a way of making policies.” He said “losing weight, exercising more [and] eating more fruits and vegetables” were just as important as vaccines in fighting COVID—another totally baseless claim.