The Florida Guidance on mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination: Origins and Controversy
In October of 2022, the Florida Department of Health, under the guidance of Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, put out a recommendation that males age 18-39 not receive the COVID mRNA vaccine. This was supposedly based on a study conducted by the Department. A subsequent investigation by Politico revealed that Ladapo had dramatically edited the report, directing a post hoc redesign and completely changing the study and its conclusions from the original version.
The University of Florida issued a scathing critique of the study. Ron DeSantis and Ladapo ignored all criticism and used the report as a basis of a lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers.
Annotated versions of relevant documents including drafts of the report, Dr. Ladapo’s edits to drafts of the report, the final report, the press release, a U of F critique of the report, media reactions, and the Grand Jury Petition for legal action against the vaccine manufacturers can be found in the following documents.
Overview NOTE: Begin with this summary, which describes the report and key problems and includes links to supporting documents.
Edits by Ladapo to Final Report
Press Release for Final Report
Florida DPH Guidance based on Final Report
University of Florida Critique of Final Report
Reactions to the Release of the Draft
Exploring the relationship between all-cause and cardiac-related mortality following COVID-19 vaccination in Florida residents: a self-controlled case series study
