DeSantis and top Fla. health official warn against COVID shots for people under 65

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the state’s surgeon general are advising against the use of updated COVID-19 vaccines for anyone under the age of 65, a move that counters a new recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Speaking Wednesday on a panel with other physicians who have cast doubt on the COVID vaccine — including some who lobbied Trump administration officials to back the “herd immunity” theory — Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo expressed concerns over the shot’s safety, saying incorrectly that there was “not a drop of clinical trial data” supporting the vaccines.

“We continue to live in a world where the CDC and the [Food and Drug Administration], when it comes to COVID at least, are just beating their own path in a direction that’s inexplicable in terms of thinking about data and in thinking about common sense,” Ladapo said.

“With virtually every walking human being having some degree of immunity, and the questions we have about safety, and about effectiveness — especially about safety — my judgment is that it’s not a good decision for young people, and for people who are not at high risk at this point in the pandemic,” Ladapo said. 

DeSantis is running for president, and has made a name for himself on the national stage by publicly feuding with the Biden administration’s top health officials over COVID-19 policy. 

“I will not stand by and let the FDA and CDC use healthy Floridians as guinea pigs for new booster shots that have not been proven to be safe or effective,” DeSantis said. “Once again, Florida is the first state in the nation to stand up and provide guidance based on truth, not Washington edicts.”

Ladapo was appointed by DeSantis in 2021, and has also been vocal about his opposition to federal health policies. He has previously cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 shots.

In March, the CDC and FDA sent a letter to Ladapo, warning that he was fueling vaccine hesitancy and harming Florida’s seniors. 

Ladapo’s latest guidance, which is not binding, says individuals 65 and older should discuss getting vaccinated with their health care provider.

On Tuesday, the CDC endorsed updated COVID-19 shots for everyone 6 months and older. 

While there is some disagreement among health experts and the CDC’s advisory panel over the level of benefit younger healthier people will get from the shot, there was no recommendation against taking it. 

Hundreds of millions of doses of this vaccine have been administered so far with few adverse effects and the CDC on Tuesday said its post-vaccine monitoring has been “the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history.”