Ashish Jha, who led the White House’s national coronavirus response and served as dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health before leaving office for the last time, said, “This pattern of Dr. Ladapo is that every few months, some new “We’ve seen a pattern of people raising concerns and then quickly being debunked.” Year. “This idea of DNA fragments is scientific nonsense. People who understand how these vaccines are made and administered understand that there is no risk here.”
Ladapo said his political backer, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), is fighting for survival in the Republican presidential primary, trailing former President Donald Trump by more than 40 points in the race. We issued a breaking news while being under fire. Direct voting. The first nominating contest, the Iowa caucuses, is scheduled to be held on January 15th.
“Health care providers concerned about patient health risks associated with COVID-19 should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatments,” Ladapo wrote.
The Florida Department of Health will question whether Ladapo’s new stance will affect vaccine access for the state’s patients and health care providers, or if his decision to repeat claims that have been proven false will affect other routine vaccines. He did not immediately respond to questions about whether this might raise doubts about vaccination. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows: Florida is far behind. Most states are covered in terms of the percentage of their population that has received the latest booster shot. Meanwhile, hospitalizations due to the new coronavirus are increasing nationwide. Approximately 30,000 Americans There were new hospitalizations during the week of December 23rd.
Scott Rivkees, who was appointed by Mr. DeSantis and preceded Mr. Ladapo as Florida’s Surgeon General and retired in September 2021, said Wednesday’s announcement was “surprising and disappointing” and that He said this contradicts established theories about the safety of virus vaccines. However, current DeSantis officials praised the announcement.
“I’m grateful to live in a state where big pharmaceutical companies don’t dictate health policy recommendations,” said Christina Pushau, a senior member of the DeSantis campaign. Posted On X, formerly known as Twitter, she thanked Ladapo for “standing up for scientific integrity.” The DeSantis campaign did not respond to questions about whether the governor had coordinated with Ladapo about the announcement or whether he intended to take a similar position if elected president.
Ladapo’s move was praised by a network of anti-vaccination allies who have repeatedly argued that vaccinations are ineffective because they promote their own treatments with little or no scientific evidence.
Polls show Republicans remain disproportionately skeptical of coronavirus vaccines, a position sometimes amplified by Republican politicians. The paper found that 55% of Republican respondents vowed to “never take” the vaccine, compared with 12% of Democrats. November voting Presented by KFF health policy researchers.
The study also found that differences in attitudes toward vaccination, and lower vaccine uptake rates among Republican voters, led Republicans to be more likely to die from the coronavirus than Democrats after vaccines became widely available in April 2021. It also suggests that it is related to high altitude.
President Trump wanted to promote Operation Warp Speed, his 2020 effort to successfully accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine. But he hasn’t talked much about vaccines on the 2024 trail, expressing surprise to advisers about how much his supporters seem to hate vaccines, two advisers said in private discussions. He spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue. The Trump campaign did not respond to an email requesting comment.
Trump advisers have noted that DeSantis used federal funds to support the vaccine drive in Florida before becoming more skeptical.
He said Ladapo’s claims about coronavirus vaccines are based on politics, not science. David Gorski is a professor of surgery and oncology at Wayne State University and editor-in-chief of Science-Based Medicine, a magazine that debunks medical misinformation.
“I have never seen state health officials parroting anti-vaccine misinformation to justify withdrawing a vaccine that has saved so many lives,” Gorski said. . “Republicans have adopted this kind of anti-vaccine, anti-public health ideology as part of their belief system.”
Federal officials on Wednesday reiterated their confidence in the mRNA vaccine developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech and widely used since its global introduction in late 2020. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide have been vaccinated, a company spokesperson said. he told the Post.
“It’s one of the most studied vaccines right now,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said, emphasizing that she and her family have been vaccinated.
The Food and Drug Administration, which has authorized or approved several coronavirus vaccines, on Wednesday emphasized the “safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality” of the vaccines.
“It is misleading to persistently refer to information about residual DNA in coronavirus vaccines without placing it in the context of the vaccine’s manufacturing process and known benefits,” FDA spokeswoman Shelley Duvall Jones said in a statement. “I invite you,” he said.
Ladapo, a Harvard-trained physician and researcher who did not specialize in infectious diseases, gained national attention for writing a column in the Wall Street Journal that questioned public health interventions throughout the pandemic. Collected. The column caught the attention of Mr. DeSantis. DeSantis selected Ladapo in 2021 to oversee the health department of about 15,000 people in the nation’s third-most populous state.
In that role, Ladapo has increasingly warned about vaccine safety, often joined by colleagues and members of the media. He made the announcement this week on a podcast with Del Bigtree, who heads the anti-vaccination group Informed Consent Action Network. Participated in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign as communications director for independent candidates;Radapo also appears online Program hosted by far-right media outlet Stew Peters The man who called for former presidential medical adviser Anthony S. Fauci to be hanged.
Ladapo’s stance has drawn him into conflict with FDA and federal officials, who say his claims are unfounded and dangerous.
“We firmly support regulatory decisions regarding the authorization and approval of coronavirus vaccines,” said Peter Marks, FDA’s head of vaccines. I have written “The challenge we continue to face is the continued prevalence of misinformation and disinformation about these vaccines, resulting in vaccine hesitancy and low vaccination uptake. ”
Rib Keith The former Florida Surgeon General cited state data showing more than 8,000 people died from the coronavirus in Florida last year, saying, “The vast majority are vaccine-preventable if people have up-to-date vaccines. It’s very likely.”
“If you’re going to take mRNA vaccination off the table…and not give Florida residents guidance on what to do to protect themselves from COVID-19, this is a huge departure from public health. ,” Rivkees said. He said.
Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report.
