SARASOTA, Fla. — Contradicting guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s top health department official recommended residents against getting a new COVID-19 vaccine booster.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and the Republican governor, who is also running for president, discussed the state’s new vaccine guidance on Wednesday during a panel discussion with health professionals who were critical of the shot. Ladapo announced that state health officials will warn anyone under the age of 65 against getting the new boosters recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
“I will not stand by and let the FDA and CDC use healthy Floridians as guinea pigs for new booster shots that have not been proven to be safe or effective,” DeSantis said in a news release after the panel discussion.