Who is Surgeon General Jerome Adams?
President Trump appointed Adams to the post in 2017
Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams has been in the spotlight this year as he encourages Americans to protect themselves during the coronavirus pandemic.
President Trump appointed Adams to the post in 2017. At the time, Adams was serving as Indiana's health commissioner, chosen by then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
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Adams holds the position of vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and is one of the top federal authorities on public health. He has used his position to educate Americans about coronavirus, including by telling them to "STOP BUYING MASKS!" as health care workers face a shortage of personal protective equipment.
"We are hopeful that if we lean into this, then maybe in about six to eight weeks, we will have gotten over the majority of the pain, we will have flattened the curve, and we can start to slowly get back to life as normal," Adams said while discussing the pandemic on "Fox & Friends" on Monday.
Adams is an anesthesiologist who received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine, and also holds a master of public health degree from the University of California at Berkeley, according to his official bio.
President Donald Trump speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Monday, March, 9, 2020, about the coronavirus outbreak as Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, Vice President Mike Pence, and Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, listen. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Before the pandemic, Adams focused on fighting the opioid crisis and urged Americans to carry naloxone (also known by the brand name Narcan) -- a nasal spray which can reverse the effects of an overdose -- by issuing the first Surgeon General’s Advisory in 13 years.
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While serving as Indiana's health commissioner, Adams worked under Pence during one of the nation's biggest HIV outbreaks that was attributed to needle-sharing among drug users. Adams has been credited with convincing Pence to allow syringe exchanges, giving users access to clean needles.
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