‘Lot of Red Flags’: Florida Surgeon General Warns Against New COVID-19 Vaccines

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo in Tampa, Fla., on Oct. 15, 2022. York Du/The Epoch Times

Florida’s Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, warned that there was “no evidence” of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccines being safe for human beings and suggested that people may be better off not getting these new jabs.

“We all know there’s a new vaccine that’s coming around the corner, [a] new mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. And there’s essentially no evidence ‘for it. There’s been no clinical trial done in human beings showing that it benefits people, there’s been no clinical trial showing that it is a safe product for people. And not only that, but then there are a lot of red flags,” Dr. Ladapo said on Thursday during a news conference with Governor Ron DeSantis.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 2023–24 COVID-19 vaccine will be made available beginning mid-September.

Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax are developing vaccines for multiple COVID-19 variants. Pfizer recently claimed that its updated vaccine provided protection against the BA.2.86 strain and other fast-spreading variants in a trial conducted on animals. Moderna’s vaccine targeting BA.2.86 already conducted trials in humans. Both firms are also planning to roll out new vaccines targeting the Omicron strain XBB.1.5.

The Epoch Times reached out to the vaccine companies for comment.

At the press conference, Dr. Ladapo pointed out some of the safety concerns about mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and indicated that people should not take the new vaccines if they do not feel confident in its effects.

“So something that you don’t hear much about … there are multiple studies now from around the world, Brazil, Australia, United States that show that over time these vaccines, these mRNA COVID-19 products actually increase your chances of contracting COVID-19.”

“That’s not normal and unfortunately, you’re going to have people who are going to get on television and try to explain why you should be comfortable with taking a product that ultimately, like its predecessors, increases your chance of contracting something.”

Dr. Ladapo asked people to make decisions based on their “resonance of truth” rather than depending on “very educated people telling you what you should think.”

“When they try to convince you to be comfortable and agree with things that don’t feel comfortable and don’t feel like things you should agree with, that’s a sign … And I encourage you and certainly beg and hope that you do listen to it because it will serve you right.”

A January–July 2023 study that analyzed data from 33 California state prisons found that individuals who received new COVID-19 booster shots were more likely to contract COVID-19 compared to those who did not receive the jabs.

The infection rate among the group that received the bivalent booster shots came in at 3.2 percent—higher than the 2.7 percent among the unvaccinated.

Late last month, the CDC admitted that the new BA.2.86 strain can cause infection even among people who have previously been vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The large number of mutations in this variant raises concerns of greater escape from existing immunity from vaccines and previous infections compared with other recent variants,” the agency said in its assessment.

Cardiac Injury, mRNA Particles in Body

During the press conference, the Florida surgeon general also claimed that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines “actually caused cardiac injury in many people.”

“And the magnitude of that cardiac injury, it’s beyond cardio myocarditis that leads to hospitalization. We call it subclinical myocarditis. Its clinical significance is really unknown. In a perfect world, hopefully it won’t be a big deal, but we don’t know,” he said.

A medical worker prepares the COVID-19 vaccination after the thawing stage outside of UCI Medical Center, in Orange, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart and is a serious condition that can lead to death.

“It’s unsafe and it’s truly irresponsible for FDA, CDC, and others to be championing something like that when we don’t know the implications of it,” Dr. Ladapo said.

“It’s probably on the order of somewhere between three and five and a 100 people that have evidence of this. Maybe it’s even higher. It’s just completely irresponsible to be pushing something like that.”

Earlier this year, a service member whistleblower disclosed that there was a spike in the rate of myocarditis in the military in 2021 following the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. Last month, he came public.

In an interview with the Epoch Times, active-duty Navy Medical Service Corps officer Lt. Ted Macie cited Pentagon data to show that the diagnosis of myocarditis rose by more than 130.5 percent in 2021 compared to the average of 2016-2020 cases.

Diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, blood clots in the lungs, and ovarian dysfunction spiked as well.

At the press conference, Dr. Ladapo cited another study that came out recently showing that the spike protein in the mRNA vaccines “apparently appears to stick around, floating around your body for months. There’s a recent study that showed that it was detectable six months later in some people.”

Vaccine Push, COVID-19 Mandates

Dr. Ladapo’s warning against mRNA vaccines came as the White House stated in a Sept. 8 Fact Sheet that the Biden administration intends to get U.S. citizens updated shots this fall, “encouraging Americans to use them.”

People wearing protective face masks walk on the street in Brooklyn, New York, on Oct. 7, 2020. Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times

“The Administration has secured over 170 million doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines,” it said. “The Administration is launching a comprehensive effort to make sure that these vaccines are free, widely available, and easy to access for all Americans.”

Meanwhile, there is speculation that mask mandates may once more come into effect amid a rise in COVID-19 cases. Some states like Texas and Florida have already clarified that no compulsory masking would be imposed in their states.

“Even today, parts of our country are forcing children to wear masks in the classroom,” Mr. DeSantis said during a Sept. 7 news conference. “Those mandates are [dead on arrival] in Florida, and we will protect parents and children from this perpetual COVID hysteria.”

“You think that they just won’t try anything new again, and then they always try to figure something out,” the Florida governor said, referring to politicians and health officials who had earlier pushed for imposing vaccine mandates and lockdowns.

“If you give these people an inch, they will take a mile.”