TALLAHASSEE, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — Florida’s surgeon general urged a stop to all mRNA COVID-19 shots after receiving a response from the FDA regarding concerns raised about potential plasmid DNA contamination of the jabs.
In a Wednesday post on X, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD said he is “calling for a halt to the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.”
“As always, Florida will put scientific integrity and the safety of our citizens above profit-fueled agendas,” he said.
As always, Florida will put scientific integrity and the safety of our citizens above profit-fueled agendas.
See my full recommendation here: https://t.co/PkonLzaCUL
— Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) January 3, 2024
Florida’s top doctor, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021 and has consistently and publicly spoken out against COVID-19 jabs, lockdowns, and mask mandates, made the remarks after reportedly receiving a response from the FDA regarding a December letter sharing his concern about “the recent discovery of host cell DNA fragments within the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.”
As LifeSiteNews reported in October, researchers late last year published a preprint study claiming to have discovered “significant levels” of “plasmid DNA” in expired COVID-19 vaccines, impurities the researchers say may be linked to adverse events. The study, which is not yet peer-reviewed, called for “further investigation” to corroborate the findings.
In his December 6 letter to the FDA, Ladapo said the study “raises concerns regarding the presence of nucleic acid contaminants in the approved Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.”
Continuing, he said the FDA itself provided guidance in 2007 that raised the possibility that “DNA integration could theoretically impact a human’s oncogenes – the genes which can transform a healthy cell into a cancerous cell,” and could therefore “result in chromosomal instability.”
“The Guidance for Industry discusses biodistribution of DNA vaccines and how such integration could affect unintended parts of the body including blood, heart, brain, liver, kidney, bone marrow, ovaries/testes, lung, draining lymph nodes, spleen, the site of administration and subcutis at injection site,” Ladapo summarized.
Florida’s surgeon general accordingly asked the FDA to weigh in on any related risks posed by shots and closed the letter by asking the agency to respond to his questions by December 13.
A press release from Ladapo’s office on January 3 stated that the FDA had responded on December 14 without providing “evidence that DNA integration assessments have been conducted to address risks outlined by the FDA themselves in 2007.”
In the response letter, FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research director Peter Marks assured Ladapo that, “based on a thorough assessment of the entire manufacturing process,” the agency “is confident in the quality, safety, and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.”
“The agency’s benefit-risk assessment and ongoing safety surveillance demonstrate that the benefits of their use outweigh their risks,” Marks said. “Additionally, with over a billion doses of the mRNA vaccines administered, no safety concerns related to residual DNA have been identified.”
According to the federal agency, “[n]o SV40 proteins are encoded for or are present in the vaccines,” and the FDA “has taken into account the totality of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine product, including the lipid nanoparticles.” Moreover, the letter stated that “[a]ny contamination with residual DNA fragments is monitored routinely as a product specification,” and asserted that it’s improbable that “residual DNA fragments” from the shots would be integrated “into reproductive cells.”
However, Dr. Ladapo said in a statement that the response from the FDA “does not provide data or evidence that the DNA integration assessments they recommended themselves have been performed.”
“Instead, they pointed to genotoxicity studies – which are inadequate assessments for DNA integration risk,” he said, adding that, “[i]f the risks of DNA integration have not been assessed for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, these vaccines are not appropriate for use in human beings.”
“Providers concerned about patient health risks associated with COVID-19 should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatment,” Dr. Ladapo said. “It is my hope that, in regard to COVID-19, the FDA will one day seriously consider its regulatory responsibility to protect human health, including the integrity of the human genome.”
“In the spirit of transparency and scientific integrity,” the surgeon general’s office said, Ladapo “will continue to assess research surrounding these risks and provide updates to Floridians.”