The Untold Truth Of Surgeon General Jerome Adams

Dr. Jerome Adams, the 20th Surgeon General of the United States, has become a regular on the news, along with Dr. Anthony Fauci, as America looks to health officials for clarity and guidance amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Adams got personal at a task force briefing at the White House on April 10, 2020, showing his asthma inhaler and displaying a little vulnerability.

Adams said that he wanted viewers to know that even the relatively young and fit are still at risk of getting the coronavirus, and experiencing severe symptoms. By showing his inhaler, and expressing his long-held fear of suffering a fatal asthma attack, he also wanted to convey that it's not a weakness to acknowledge that vulnerability.

With such an inspiring message, it's safe to say that we're intrigued by this remarkable doctor.

Dr. Jerome Adams grew up in rural Maryland where, according to Newsweek, his father worked as a tobacco farmer and pig rancher on his family's plot of land. Instead of following in those footsteps, Adams went to the University of Maryland on a full tuition scholarship before going on to study abroad in Holland and Zimbabwe.

Afterwards, Adams attended medical school at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He also received a Master of Public Health degree from UC Berkeley.

Adams worked as an anesthesiologist in Indiana for years before then-Governor Mike Pence asked if he would work as state health commissioner in October 2014. It wasn't long after Adams began that HIV cases in Indiana started to surge, and he was tasked with conducting research to discover the cause. After determining that tainted needles were a primary route by which the disease was spreading, Adams asked Pence to open a syringe exchange program in Indiana, with clean needles being distributed to the public for free in an effort to prevent the spread of HIV.

While the program eventually went into effect, Pence was heavily criticized for his delay in responding to the viral spread.

In June 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Dr. Jerome Adams to be the 20th Surgeon General of the United States. In his opening statement in August of the same year, Adams said that he wanted to make America healthier, and shared that his priorities as the U.S. Surgeon General were to deal with the opioid crisis and untreated mental illness.

Not long after Adams became the nation's Top Doctor, he was on a Delta flight when a medical emergency prompted the crew to ask if a doctor was on board. The flight crew was amazed when their call for help was answered by the surgeon general himself. Adams later tweeted about the experience, saying he was happy to be able to assist during a time of need.

In addition to his day job, Adams is a proud husband and father to three children, whom he brags about in adorable posts on the official Instagram account of the U.S. Surgeon General. For International Women's Day, Adams shared a lovely tribute to his daughter, Millie, writing:

"Women are a powerful force that continue to make our world a better place."

Since the spread of the coronavirus began, Dr. Jerome Adams has been under public scrutiny. According to The Atlantic, Adams addressed the particular hardships faced by people of color during this global pandemic and urged people to change their habits during this time, saying on April 10:

Some found his language offensive and rhetorically racist, but Adams defended his words, saying, quote, "I used the language that is used in my family."

Adams also got in trouble for asking Americans to stop buying masks on Twitter, back on February 29, claiming that when the general public purchases all the masks, it takes them away from sick patients. However, Adams has since changed his stance, encouraged the use of masks, and even made a video showing how to make a mask at home.

Adams has also been active on Twitter, sharing resources for Americans and celebrating success stories. Watch the video to learn The Untold Truth Of Surgeon General Jerome Adams!

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