Fla. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo gets scathing letter from CDC, FDA
MIAMI - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control leaders slapped Florida's surgeon general with a scathing letter Friday.
Both accuse Dr. Joseph Ladapo of fueling COVID-19 vaccine hesitation instead of accepting scientific facts.
"You'd think that my colleagues have been taken over by zombies or something," Dr. Ladapo said during his 2022 confirmation of members of the medical and scientific community who accepted mainstream opinions on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness.
Concerned about claims Dr. Ladapo made about the adverse events from the vaccine, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf and CDC's Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed a four-page letter that statements considered "…incorrect, misleading and could be harmful to the American public."
Both leaders attacked claims that growing numbers of Floridians complain about life-threatening conditions linked to COVID-19 vaccines.
CDC and the FDA insist those reports to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VARES) do not mean vaccines caused such problems, according to the letter.
It also explains that researchers need more time to investigate. Based on what evidence currently available, both agencies see no evidence of increased risk of death associated with vaccines and said vaccinations save lives.
"It is the job of public health officials around the country to protect the lives of the populations they serve, particularly the vulnerable," Drs Califf and Walensky wrote. "Fueling vaccine hesitancy undermines this effort."