The Florida health department has come under fire for spreading “misinformation” about COVID-19 booster shots. The department has advised older Floridians and individuals at high risk to avoid most booster shots, claiming they are potentially dangerous. However, clinicians and scientists have denounced this message as politically motivated scaremongering that undermines efforts to protect against diseases like measles and whooping cough.
The surgeon general of Florida, Joseph Ladapo, who was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis, has been criticized for attacking public health protocols.
Experts in the vaccine industry have stated that they have never seen a state health leader urging residents to avoid an FDA-approved and CDC-recommended vaccine. Joseph Ladapo’s bulletin states that COVID-19 boosters not undergoing clinical trials, posing a risk of infections and autoimmune diseases, and causing elevated levels of spike protein and foreign genetic material in the blood. The bulletin also suggests that too many booster shots pose an unknown risk and promotes exercise and healthy eating as alternatives to vaccination.
Critics of the bulletin argue that it reads like a tryout for a job in a Trump administration advised by a well-known anti-vaccine activist. They believe Ladapo’s statements have dampened interest in vaccination overall and have contributed to the spread of “misinformation”. Despite the rapid creation of COVID-19 vaccines under the Trump administration, the former president declined to receive his shots in public.
