On Wednesday, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo called for a halt to the use of mRNA coronavirus vaccines, claiming that the shots could contaminate patients’ DNA — a claim that has been thoroughly debunked by public health experts, federal officials, and vaccine manufacturers.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo’s statement
Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo’s announcement, issued as a state bulletin, follows months of back-and-forth with federal regulators, who have repeatedly chastised his vaccine rhetoric. As respiratory viruses spread this winter, public health experts warn against casting doubt on proven lifesaving measures.
“We’ve seen this pattern from Dr. Ladapo that every few months he raises some new concern and it quickly gets debunked,” said Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s public health school, who led the White House’s national coronavirus response before stepping down last year.“This idea of DNA fragments — it’s scientific nonsense. People who understand how these vaccines are made and administered understand that there is no risk here.”
Ladapo issued the bulletin as his political patron, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), battles to stay alive in the Republican presidential primary, trailing former President Donald Trump by more than 40 percentage points in head-to-head polls. The Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest, are scheduled for January 15.
“Providers concerned about patient health risks associated with COVID-19 should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatment,” Ladapo wrote.
The Florida Department of Health did not respond immediately to questions about whether Ladapo’s new stance would affect vaccine access for the state’s patients and health providers or whether his decision to repeat debunked claims could cast doubt on other routine vaccinations. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida lags far behind the majority of states in terms of the percentage of its population that has received an updated booster dose. Meanwhile, COVID hospitalizations have been on the rise across the country, with nearly 30,000 Americans admitted during the week of December 23.
Ladapo’s action was applauded by a network of anti-vaccine allies
Scott Rivkees, a DeSantis appointee who succeeded Ladapo as Florida surgeon general before stepping down in September 2021, called Wednesday’s announcement “surprising and disappointing” and contradictory to established science on the safety of coronavirus vaccines. However, current DeSantis administration officials praised the announcement.
“Grateful to live in a state where Big Pharma does not dictate health policy recommendations,” Christina Pushaw, a DeSantis campaign official, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, where she thanked Ladapo “for standing up for scientific integrity.”
The DeSantis campaign did not respond to questions about whether the governor coordinated the announcement with Ladapo or whether he would take a similar stance if elected president.
Ladapo’s action was applauded by a network of anti-vaccine allies, who have repeatedly claimed that the shots are ineffective while promoting their own treatments based on little or no scientific evidence.
According to November polling by health policy researchers at KFF, Republicans remain disproportionately skeptical of coronavirus vaccines, a position sometimes amplified by GOP politicians: 55 percent of Republican respondents vowed that they would “definitely not get” the vaccine, compared to 12 percent of Democrats.
Vaccination attitude differences—and GOP voters’ lower uptake of the vaccine—have also been linked to Republicans dying at higher rates than Democrats from the coronavirus after vaccines became widely available in April 2021.
Trump has made a point of promoting Operation Warp Speed, his 2020 initiative to successfully accelerate the development of coronavirus vaccines. However, on the 2024 campaign trail, he mentions the vaccine only in passing and has expressed surprise to advisers about how much his supporters appear to dislike the vaccine, according to two advisers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to relay private discussions. An email seeking a comment from Trump’s campaign was not returned.