Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ hand-picked surgeon general has warned against obtaining the new COVID-19 booster vaccine, which is expected to receive approval in the coming days.
State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo made the claims at a news conference Thursday, saying there was no evidence to support the shot and that there are “red flags” about its safety.
The updated shots, which target an Omicron subvariant called
“Listen to what makes sense, what feels good, you know, what feels like the truth,” Lapado said, offering his advice on receiving the shots.
“We all know it when we feel it inside.”
Joining Lapado at the event, DeSantis did not provide specific advice on the booster, but denounced federal regulators at the FDA and CDC as corrupt and claimed they have “essentially become an arm of Big Pharma.”
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has warned against obtaining the new COVID-19 booster vaccine, which is expected to receive approval in the coming days
Los Angeles residents mask up at Union Station on August 31 as a rise in COVID cases prompts a return to pandemic habits in some areas
Spokespeople for the FDA and CDC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DailyMail.com on Saturday.
Ladapo’s previous warnings against older versions of the COVID-19 vaccines prompted a harsh rebuke from the two agencies in March when they published a report open letter accuses him of “fueling vaccine hesitancy.”
“Based on available information about the COVID-19 vaccines authorized or approved in the United States, the known and potential benefits of these vaccines clearly outweigh the known and potential risks,” the letter said.
“It is incumbent on public health officials across the country to protect the lives of the populations they serve, especially the vulnerable. Fueling vaccine hesitancy undermines this effort,” said the letter, signed by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
Approval of the updated COVID-19 booster shots is expected within days. Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax have all produced new versions of the vaccine.
Similar to the way flu shots are updated every year, the FDA gave COVID-19 vaccine makers a new prescription targeting the variant that was dominant over the summer.
But as expected, the XBB.1.5 variant it is targeting has faded in the months it took to adapt the vaccine.
CDC estimates show that XBB.1.5 is responsible for about 3 percent of current cases, while a soup of other newer Omicron variants dominates, led by EG.5 at about 20 percent.
At Thursday’s event, held at an Irish pub in Jacksonville, DeSantis pledged that Florida would not temporarily close schools or require mask-wearing due to rising COVID cases
In Uniondale, New York, a resident said last month that he wears a mask while working as a home health aide for a 70-year-old man due to the recent rise in COVID hospitalizations
The above shows how adoption languished after last year’s booster rollout, with less than 17 percent of eligible adults signing up
In his remarks at Thursday’s event, held at an Irish pub in Jacksonville, DeSantis pledged that Florida would not temporarily close schools or mandate the wearing of masks due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases.
“People are lurching toward this madness again,” DeSantis said. “When we see these things being orchestrated… there needs to be pushback.”
The Florida governor also hopes his message resonates in the Sunshine State during the campaign as he seeks the Republican nomination for president.
Shortly after Thursday’s press conference, his presidential campaign sent an email to supporters vowing to “fight back against any false attempt by the left to expand government control” when it comes to COVID-19 precautions .
He also appeared on Fox News that night and said, “No mask mandates, no school kid mandates, no COVID vax mandates.”
DeSantis’ news conference in Jacksonville came nearly two weeks after three Black people were fatally shot there by a 21-year-old white supremacist, who authorities say left behind rumors that read like “the diary of a madman.”
As DeSantis answered questions at Thursday’s news conference, an unidentified man spoke out, saying the governor had “allowed guns to fill the streets” and was responsible for the shootings.
“I didn’t allow any of that,” DeSantis fired back angrily. “I will not let you accuse me of committing criminal activity. I won’t accept that!’
“You allowed people to prey on people like me,” the audience member, who was black, continued, prompting a visibly angry DeSantis to respond, “Oh, that’s bullshit. That’s such nonsense.’