TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Surgeon General said Wednesday the government should stop giving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
The Florida Department of Health said Dr. Joseph Ladapo released the following statement:
“The FDA’s response does not provide data or evidence that the DNA integration assessments they recommended themselves have been performed. Instead, they pointed to genotoxicity studies – which are inadequate assessments for DNA integration risk. In addition, they obfuscated the difference between the SV40 promoter/enhancer and SV40 proteins, two elements that are distinct.
“DNA integration poses a unique and elevated risk to human health and to the integrity of the human genome, including the risk that DNA integrated into sperm or egg gametes could be passed onto offspring of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine recipients. If the risks of DNA integration have not been assessed for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, these vaccines are not appropriate for use in human beings.
“Providers concerned about patient health risks associated with COVID-19 should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatment. It is my hope that, in regard to COVID-19, the FDA will one day seriously consider its regulatory responsibility to protect human health, including the integrity of the human genome.”
“In the spirit of transparency and scientific integrity, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo will continue to assess research surrounding these risks and provide updates to Floridians.”
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Risks cited by Ladapo have been labeled as “misinformation” by federal officials. Action News Jax reached out to the Food and Drug Administration and it shared the following statement:
“The FDA stands firmly behind the safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality of the approved and authorized COVID-19 vaccines, and respectfully disagrees with the Florida Surgeon General’s opinion. With over a billion doses of the mRNA vaccines administered and following very careful review of all the available scientific evidence, the FDA has not identified safety concerns related to the sequence of, or amount of, residual DNA. In general, while concerns have been raised previously as theoretical issues, the available scientific evidence regarding the mRNA vaccines strongly supports the conclusion that the vaccines are safe and effective and have a highly favorable profile of benefit to risk. Additionally, it is simply a fact that millions of lives have been saved because of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, which most Americans undergoing vaccination have received (Two Years COVID Vaccines Prevented Millions Hospitalizations Deaths | Commonwealth Fund).
“Perpetuating references to information about residual DNA in COVID-19 vaccines without placing it within the context of the manufacturing process and the known benefits of the vaccine is misleading. Please refer to FDA’s letter to Dr. Ladapo for an explanation along with references. As stated in the letter, the challenge we continue to face is the ongoing proliferation of misinformation and disinformation about these vaccines which results in vaccine hesitancy that lowers vaccine uptake. Given the dramatic reduction in the risk of death, hospitalization and serious illness afforded by the vaccines, lower vaccine uptake is contributing to the continued death and serious illness toll of COVID-19.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is keeping a very close eye on how the health care system is dealing with an increase in cases.
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