Joseph Ladapo, Surgeon General of Florida, USA, called for stopping vaccination of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA Covid-19 vaccines, arguing that they are concerned about harming DNA.
“Providers concerned about patient health risks associated with Covid-19 should prioritize non-mRNA treatments and vaccines,” Washington Post quoted Mr. Ladapo on January 3.
Mr. Ladapo said that he had raised questions with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the safety of the vaccine, however, the agency has not provided specific evidence to refute his statement.
In December 2023, Mr. Ladapo sent a letter to the FDA and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), saying that the FDA did not fully assess the risks of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine with integrated DNA and Injections can cause a variety of harmful side effects.
He said DNA left on vaccine doses could contain SV40, a DNA virus, which he said can activate cancer-causing genes or cause chromosomal instability.
The FDA rejected his argument, noting there have been more than a billion injections worldwide and no safety concerns related to DNA have been identified.
Mr. Ladapo’s statement is considered unfounded by many in the scientific community.
Science America said the Covid-19 vaccine does not contain SV40 proteins or any genetic material that encodes them. Although SV40 was a contaminant in early polio vaccines, it has not been shown to cause cancer in humans.
Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said that the process of producing mRNA vaccines may result in small amounts of DNA in the finished product, but this is similar to vaccines grown on cells, including measles and chickenpox vaccines and this amount of DNA is not harmful.
Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biological Evaluation and Research, said that the vaccine’s ability to damage human DNA is unbelievable. Mr Marks warned that false and misleading information could affect vaccination rates.
Scott Rivkees, Mr. Ladapo’s predecessor surgeon general, said that the January 3 statement was “surprising and disappointing” as it contradicted the scientific community about the proven safety of the Covid-19 vaccine.
David Gorski, professor of surgery and oncology at Wayne State University, said that the above statement has a political element as the Republican Party wants to strengthen its anti-vaccine stance.
In March 2022, Mr. Ladapo recommended not giving healthy children the Covid-19 vaccine. By 2023, he said again that people under 65 years old should not get booster doses of the vaccine, according to Hill.
Some officials in the current administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis support Mr. Ladapo’s statement. Mr. DeSantis has not commented on the case. The Florida governor is running for US president in 2024 and has built a public image criticizing President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 policies.
In December 2023, a study was published stating that mRNA vaccines could produce “unintended” small amounts of protein. However, scientists say it does not affect the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine. This discovery helps scientists research more widespread applications of mRNA technology.