Florida surgeon general warned over vaccine advice
- Dr. Joseph Ladapo advised children and men 18-39 against the COVID vaccine
- The CDC and FDA warned his statements contribute to vaccine misinformation
- Only 16.3% of Americans have the latest COVID booster
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(NewsNation) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have sent warning letters to Florida’s surgeon general over his recommendation that healthy children and men avoid the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Joseph Ladapo joined NewsNation to defend his position. He claims the public health policies implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were unnecessary.
“It didn’t make sense to push masks on children or force people to wear them when they didn’t want to wear them. They probably weren’t going to make a big difference anyway,” he said.
A recent study has been cited as evidence that masking is ineffective; however, the study actually examined whether efforts by public health officials to get people to wear masks was effective in presenting disease. Other studies have found that, when worn properly by the majority of people, masks can limit the spread of COVID-19.
The CDC and FDA issued their letters of warning after Ladapo recommended children and men between the ages of 18 and 39 should not be vaccinated.
“Pushing vaccines that are not extensively studied on people that were low-risk makes zero sense,” Ladapo said.
The COVID-19 vaccine was developed quickly thanks to an influx of government funding and a large pool of willing volunteers that allowed clinical trials to conclude in under a year.
While there were some reports of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, in men after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s unclear if those cases were caused by the vaccine itself or other factors. Additionally, researchers have found the risk of experiencing myocarditis from COVID-19 is much larger than any risk from the vaccine.
Healthy people who experience mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 infections can also develop long COVID, which in some cases is severe enough to be disabling. The CDC found that among adults who have had COVID-19, nearly 1 in 5 report long COVID symptoms.
Officials from the CDC and FDA say Ladapo’s claims contribute to vaccine misinformation and undermine efforts to encourage people to get the latest booster, which is designed to be more effective against newer variants. According to CDC data, only 16.3 percent of the population has received the latest shot.
