Jerome Adams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jerome Adams
Official portrait, 2019
20th Surgeon General of the United States
In office September 5, 2017 – January 20, 2021
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Sylvia Trent-Adams Erica Schwartz
Preceded by	Vivek Murthy
Succeeded by	Vivek Murthy
Health Commissioner of Indiana
In office October 22, 2014 – September 5, 2017
Governor	Mike Pence Eric Holcomb
Preceded by	William VanNess
Succeeded by	Kristina Box
Personal details
Born	Jerome Michael Adams (1974-09-22) September 22, 1974 (age 50) Mechanicsville, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Lacey Adams
Children	3
Education	University of Maryland, Baltimore County (BA, BS) Indiana University, Indianapolis (MD) University of California, Berkeley (MPH)
Uniformed service
Service/branch	PHS Commissioned Corps
Years of service	2017–2021
Rank	Vice Admiral

Jerome Michael Adams (born September 22, 1974) is an American anesthesiologist and a former vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who served as the 20th surgeon general of the United States from September 5, 2017, until January 20, 2021. Prior to becoming Surgeon General, he served as the Indiana state health commissioner, from 2014 to 2017.

On June 29, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Adams to become Surgeon General of the United States. Adams was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 3, 2017. Adams' tenure as Surgeon General coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early life and education

Adams is the son of Richard and Edrena Adams of Mechanicsville, Maryland, and grew up on the family farm. He attended Chopticon High School, graduating in 1992, in the top 5% of his class. He then attended the University of Maryland Baltimore County through a full-tuition Meyerhoff Scholarship, a grant dedicated to minority students interested in the sciences. Adams received his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and his Bachelor of Arts in biopsychology. Additionally, Adams studied abroad in the Netherlands and Zimbabwe.

Adams attended medical school at Indiana University School of Medicine as an Eli Lilly and Company Scholar. He also received a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2000, with a focus on chronic disease prevention. Adams completed his internship in internal medicine (2002–2003) at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital and his residency in anesthesiology (2003–2006) at Indiana University. He is board certified in anesthesiology.

Career

Private practice and academia

After two years in private practice at Ball Memorial Hospital, Adams was named assistant professor of anesthesiology at Indiana University. .....

Indiana state health commissioner

In October 2014, Adams was appointed Indiana state health commissioner. He was originally appointed by Governor Mike Pence and re-appointed by newly elected governor Eric Holcomb in 2017. In this role, he oversaw the Public Health Protection and Laboratory Services, Health and Human Services, Health Care Quality and Regulatory, and Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commissions. He also served as Secretary of Indiana State Department of Health's executive board, as Chairman of the Indiana State Trauma Care Committee, as President of the Healthy Hoosier Foundation, and as co-chairman of the Indiana Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative Governing Council. During an HIV epidemic in 2015, Adams initially opposed needle-exchange programs on "moral" grounds, but he later changed his position as cases continued to mount.

Surgeon General of the United States

U.S. vice president Mike Pence swearing in Adams as U.S. Surgeon General on September 5, 2017.

On June 29, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Adams as surgeon general of the United States. He was confirmed to the position by the Senate on August 3, 2017. ..... Adams was sworn in as surgeon general on September 5, 2017, and received his commission shortly after.

..... In May 2018, Adams responded to an in-flight medical emergency on a flight to Jackson, Mississippi.

In September 2018, Adams began a campaign along with other public health officials to promote seasonal flu vaccinations. The 2017 flu epidemic had resulted in the deaths of an estimated 80,000 Americans, the highest number of deaths in at least four decades, according to CDC director Robert Redfield. Of the 180 children who died, 80 percent were unvaccinated.

COVID-19 pandemic

Adams speaking to the White House press corps on COVID-19 in March 2020.

In February 2020, Adams was appointed to the task force for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Adams initially downplayed the risk from COVID-19 by comparing it to the flu, which was criticized by experts. He also implored people not to buy or use face masks in public because he said they were not effective in preventing the general public from catching the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and that wearing a mask could actually increase the risk of catching the virus. This was in line with other health experts, including Anthony Fauci, who were working on limited information at the time.

Adams later retracted this recommendation because he said there was new information about the asymptomatic spread of the virus. After Adams made statements about the increased risks facing African Americans from COVID-19, health experts criticized his assertions as misleading and lacking adequate context.

Adams expressed concern that the George Floyd protests could lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases. According to Adams, "Based on the way the disease spreads, there is every reason to expect that we will see new clusters and potentially new outbreaks moving forward."

Adams confirmed that he was asked to step down as Surgeon General by the incoming Biden administration. Former surgeon general Vivek Murthy took his place. He officially resigned on January 20, 2021 at the request of President Joe Biden.

Subsequent career

Following his service as surgeon general, Adams joined Purdue University in October 2021 as a Presidential Fellow and its first executive director of health equity initiatives, professor of practice in the departments of Pharmacy Practice and Public Health, and a faculty member of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering. Having been part of the Trump administration, he described how this made it difficult to obtain a position in academia or the corporate world.

Personal life

Adams is Catholic, and he and his wife Lacey have three children.

Awards and decorations