The University of Florida has said it does not have the authority to investigate University of Florida Surgeon General Joseph Radapo, who has been accused of his controversial COVID-19 teaching.
This week, a group of UF College of Medicine faculty members challenged Lapado’s controversial advice that men under 40 should avoid the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. He cited an “abnormally high risk of heart-related death.”
The Washington Post first reported faculty concerns after the report was shared with them on Tuesday.
A report by the faculty council committee at the University of Florida School of Medicine outlines seven “major criticisms” of Radapo’s vaccine instruction.
Among the criticisms was that Radapo’s analysis was characterized by “reporting biases resulting from cherry-picking. Focusing only on evidence supporting his position, ignoring contradictory evidence, and properly acknowledging the limitations of his own data set.” Is not.”
The committee said it was “concerned” that Radapo had violated the University of Florida’s research integrity policy and said the matter was referred to the university’s research integrity officer.
The university’s vice president for research, David Norton, said in a statement Wednesday that the University of Florida’s Office of Research Integrity “has no position” to investigate the commission’s accusations, which extends to the extent of Radapo’s work for the University of Florida. said to exceed
“Because this work was performed by Dr. Joseph Radapo in his role as Florida State Surgeon and not in his role as a UF faculty member, the Office of UF Research Integrity, Security, and Compliance is ineligible to consider the allegations. There are no concerns about the integrity of the research in the faculty task force report,” Norton said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Radapo in September 2021 to serve as Chief Surgeon and Secretary of the Florida Department of Health. Radapo has become a controversial national figure due to his positions on issues such as the COVID-19 vaccine and mask requirements.
His vaccine recommendations for young men quickly drew criticism for what many doctors deemed a flawed analysis.
According to The Washington Post, a faculty task force said the analysis relied on data that was not statistically significant, failing to compare the risks of vaccination against benefits such as limiting deaths and reducing hospitalizations. I concluded.
The school has refused to investigate Mr Radapo’s conduct, but the task force insists Mr Radapo must abide by the standards of a university professor at all times, including in his role as a civil servant, the paper said. rice field.
Information from a Florida news service was used in this report.
