Florida Recommends Most People Don’t Receive New COVID-19 Vaccines

Florida Surgeon Gen. Dr. Joseph Ladapo speaks during an event in a file photograph. Chris O'Meara/AP Photo

Florida health authorities say only people 65 and older should consider one of the new COVID-19 vaccines, in light of the dearth of clinical trial data on the shots.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said in a statement that the vaccines “are not backed by clinical evidence, but blind faith alone with ZERO regard for widespread immunity.”

In guidance (pdf) to patients and doctors, the Florida Department of Health added: “Based on the high rate of global immunity and currently available data, the state surgeon general recommends against the COVID-19 booster for individuals under 65. Individuals 65 and older should discuss this information with their health care provider, including potential concerns outlined in this guidance.”

The guidance contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recommended nearly all Americans aged 6 months and older receive one of the new shots.

The public health agency said that vaccination “remains the best protection against COVID-19-related hospitalization and death” and “reduces your chance of suffering the effects of long COVID,” citing studies from earlier versions of the vaccines.

The CDC’s broad recommendation departs from many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark.

UK authorities recently said the updated vaccines will only be available to select groups, including the elderly and staffers in adult care homes.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., on Aug. 25, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Weak Data

The vaccines are made by Pfizer and Moderna. Pfizer has presented no clinical trial data. The CDC’s recommendation is based on testing in mice that found Pfizer’s shot produced neutralizing antibodies thought to protect against COVID-19 variants.

The CDC’s recommendation for Moderna’s vaccine was based on similar data from a clinical trial that featured just 50 people who received one of the new shots. Another 51 received a different formulation.

Five of the participants who received the new vaccine suffered medically-attended adverse events, including one whose event was determined by study investigators to be related to the shot, according to a preprint paper describing interim results.

That event was not specified in the paper or U.S. government documents and Moderna did not respond to a request for comment.

“Pushing a new COVID vaccine without human-outcomes data makes a mockery of the scientific method and our regulatory process,” Drs. Marty Makary and Tracy Beth Hoeg said in an op-ed.

“If public-health officials don’t want a repeat disappointing turnout of Americans who get the COVID booster shot, they should require a proper clinical trial to show the American people the benefit,” they added.

Just 17 percent of Americans received one of the bivalent doses, which were made available in the fall of 2022. The new vaccines replaced the bivalents.

“The CDC is advising the children get these boosters when there’s no evidence that children receive any benefit and clear evidence that they receive harm,” Dr. Robert Malone, who helped invent the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use, said on EpochTV’s “Crossroads.”

Risks include myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation that can lead to sudden death.

On the other hand, some doctors have said the available data is sufficient to support the idea the vaccines will be effective.

“The data so far suggests that the new COVID vaccine should be really quite effective against even the new emerging variants that we have seen come up in the last few weeks,” Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown School of Public Health and a former White House adviser, said on NPR. “So I’m actually quite optimistic this new vaccine is going to be protective.”

Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 coordinator, speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington on April 26, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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Mr. Ladapo urged doctors and patients to consider the available evidence on the vaccines and their precursors.

Multiple papers, for instance, have found that the vaccinated over time have an increased risk of infection and hospitalization, including people who received one of the bivalent shots.

“This is not found in other vaccines,” the surgeon general’s guidance said.

Other studies have shown the vaccines cause myocarditis in previously healthy individuals, and that the spike protein from the vaccines can linger in people for months.

There are also concerns about repeated injections, with some people approaching 10 shots by now.

“There is unknown risk of potential adverse impacts with each additional dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine; currently individuals may have received five to seven doses (and counting) of this vaccine over a 3-year period,” the guidance said.

Florida health officials said that Floridians should look to “prioritize their overall health” by staying active, limiting the processed foods they eat, making sure to eat plenty of vegetables and healthy fats, and spending time outside.