Gov. Ron DeSantis’ controversial surgeon general continues to advise against mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
The newest vaccine is now available and many residents of The Villages are rolling up their sleeves and getting the latest vaccine, along with their flu shots.
In an announcement issued this past week, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo provided Updated Guidance for COVID-19 Boosters for the Fall and Winter 2024–2025 Season.
Here’s the warning issued by Ladapo, who was appointed to the state’s top medical post in 2021:
“On August 22, 2024, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved and authorized updated versions of mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna. The FDA approved the vaccine for people 12 and older and provided emergency use authorization for children 6 months to 11 years old. The stated target of these boosters is the Omicron variant which is not causing a significant number of infections.
The most recent booster approval was granted in the absence of booster-specific clinical trial data performed in humans. Furthermore, this booster does not protect against the currently dominant strain, accounting for approximately 37% of infections in the United States. There are currently limited data to inform whether these boosters offer any substantial protection against the virus and subsequent circulating variants. Although randomized clinical trials are normally used to approve therapeutics, the federal government has not required COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to demonstrate their boosters prevent hospitalizations or death from COVID-19 illness.”
The Food and Drug Administration has warned that vaccine “misinformation and disinformation” would result in fewer people getting vaccinated.
