The U.S. Food and Drug Administration fought back on Friday against what it calls “the proliferation of misinformation” by Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

In a letter earlier this month to the FDA, Ladapo had questioned the agency’s drug approval and raised alarms about what he sees as the risk of potential cancer posed by COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Ladapo, the leader of Florida’s health department, said he believed the drug delivery system used by mRNA vaccines could be an “efficient vehicle for delivering contaminant DNA into human cells.”

But a top researcher with the FDA released a public response to Ladapo on Friday saying the Surgeon General’s scientific assertion regarding the cancer risk is “implausible.”

“These questions (raised by Ladapo) are designed to scare people rather than investigate true science,” she said. “What we do know is that COVID continues to kill thousands of people every month in the U.S. I think he is doing a disservice to the people of Florida by trying to scare them into not getting a vaccine that can be lifesaving.”

  • RainfallSonata@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Can they take away his medical license (I guess Im assuming he has one. It’s Florida, though, so who knows.)? Cause unless he’s got scientific evidence to back his claims, they should limit his ability to practice.

    • bluGill@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      There is no national medical license, each state handles it alone. If you practice in two states both states need to license you - our license in one state does not transfer to a different one automatically.

      Which is to say is in in charge of his own medical certificate.

      • TigrisMorte@kbin.social
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        9 months ago

        And as evidenced by FL, some States’ process are corrupt allowing unqualified idiots to practice.

        • HubertManne@kbin.social
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          9 months ago

          in addition the medical community is way full of itself and it takes a lot to delicense a physician and its easier for them to get it back. Doctors view themselves as elite and a doctor is to valuable to not be used. This is why it cracks me up around lawyer jokes and harping on lawyers. Lawyers get disbarred way more easily. Their community is much more likely to repercussions.

          • TigrisMorte@kbin.social
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            9 months ago

            Plus if you can’t meet the requirements you just need to be wealthy and connected enough to create a new accrediting body which says you meet theirs.

    • Facelesscog@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I’m predicting right now that he will suffer zero (meaningful) consequences. I’m sick of it, but I’ve seen it happen often enough now to not be surprised by it.