In a recent bulletin posted on the Florida Department of Health's website, Florida State Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has urged doctors to stop recommending mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, citing alleged health risks and concerns over nucleic acid contaminants. However, federal health officials have quickly refuted Ladapo's claims, deeming them "implausible" and "misleading."

Ladapo's statement raises concerns about the presence of "contaminant DNA" in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, suggesting that it could integrate into human cells and pose risks, including potential transmission to offspring of vaccine recipients. He asserts that if mRNA vaccines have not been assessed for the risks of DNA integration, they should not be used.

The Florida State Surgeon General advocates for prioritizing non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, such as the Novavax vaccine as well as monoclonal antibodies and Paxlovid treatments.

Last month, Ladapo had written a letter to the FDA expressing the same concerns. However, the FDA promptly responded, asserting confidence in the quality, safety, and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines. They emphasized that no safety concerns related to residual DNA have been identified after over a billion doses of mRNA vaccines have been administered.

Dr. Céline Gounder, a CBS News medical contributor, and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, explains that Ladapo's argument revolves around the possibility of "contaminant DNA" integrating and activating an oncogene, which could lead to cancer. However, Gounder emphasizes that there is no evidence to support Ladapo's claims.

Gounder also points out that DNA-based vaccines, which have been used for many years, have not been linked to cancer. Moreover, she clarifies that mRNA vaccines cannot integrate into DNA, debunking the misconception that mRNA vaccines are a form of gene therapy.

This is not the first time that Ladapo's claims have been rebutted by public health agencies. In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention denounced Ladapo's incorrect and misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, researchers based in London estimate that COVID vaccines have saved approximately 20 million lives worldwide in their first year of deployment, including 1.9 million Americans who would have otherwise succumbed to the pandemic. These findings were published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal in 2022.

As the debate continues, health officials emphasize the well-documented benefits of mRNA vaccines in preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death caused by COVID-19.