Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo calls push to give COVID vaccine to children ‘insane’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo went on The Charlie Kirk Show to give his thoughts on claims that children should get the COVID-19 vaccination on Thursday.
During an Aug. 14 TV broadcast on CBS Mornings, CBS Medical Contributor Dr. Celine Gounder said “kids and infants really need to get their first round [of the COVID-19 vaccine].”
Media outlets have been reporting a rise in hospitalizations and cases of COVID-19. Some businesses and schools across the U.S. have opted for a mask mandate.
Founder of Turning Point USA and podcast host Charlie Kirk asked Ladapo his response to the controversial clip.
CBS Medical Contributor Dr. Celine Gounder: The vaccines that are coming out this fall are fine tuned for XBB, and will provide good protection against Eris as well.
CBS Mornings
Co-host Gayle King: And the vaccines and the boosters are still crucial and key, aren’t they?
CBS Medical Contributor Dr. Celine Gounder: Well, especially if you’re in one of those high risk groups, so people over 75, especially with the elderly, in general, pregnant women, people who are immunocompromised, people who live in nursing homes…
Co-host Gayle King: What about the kids?
CBS Medical Contributor Dr. Celine Gounder: A lot of kids haven’t even gotten their first round of vaccination. So kids and infants really need to get their first round and protect them ahead of the fall and winter.
“Kids and infants, Doctor, your response?” Kirk asked Ladapo.
“It’s like three shots of loco. That makes no sense,” Ladapo said.
“I mean, how is someone who at this point has contracted COVID, going to benefit from a new vaccine that is not even proven to help? It’s just insane, I mean it’s totally crazy,” he said.
“I think that for people in that position, you just have to separate, you’ve got to be in the ‘vaccine, vaccine, vaccine school,’ and just completely separate from the ‘data school,’ and the ‘what does the scientific evidence say to do school.’ And that’s the school that I’m in, that other doctors are in,” Ladapo said.
Ladapo said it’s “completely, completely crazy to be recommending these vaccines to low risk people.”
“That’s totally insane,” Ladapo continued.
Ladapo has been a fierce critic of the vaccine, the FDA and CDC. In October 2022, Ladapo announced new mRNA COVID-19 vaccine guidance, advising against males aged 18-39 years old from taking those vaccines due to a reported 84% increase in the relative incidence of heart-related deaths.
In November 2022, Ladapo took to social media to warn parents to keep COVID-19 vaccines away from their children following a report from the New England Journal of Medicine.
Kirk asked the surgeon general “what is driving them” to push the boosters.
“It’s crazy, Charlie,” Ladapo said.
“Early in the pandemic, were they effective at reducing severe illness from COVID? They were – for some period of time – that efficacy waned over time. “
Ladapo said at this point since the pandemic began, it’s “ludicrous to be pushing these vaccines, probably for anyone.”
“The reason is, that there’s no good quality evidence that shows that they’re benefiting anyone at this point. And the safety risk just keeps getting worse and worse,” Ladapo said.
Ladapo said there are multiple studies that show the boosters are “associated with an increased risk of infection over time.”
“So just to be clear, I’m saying that these boosters will increase your risk of contracting COVID after a period of time, according to multiple studies that have been performed in multiple countries – and the cardiac risk just continue to accumulate,” Ladapo explained to Kirk.
Ladapo said a recent study was published from Switzerland that found that at least 2-3% of people have evidence of cardiac injury.
“That’s not normal, and you shouldn’t let anyone convince you that that’s okay. That’s completely abnormal,” Ladapo said.
Kirk said “it seems as if this narrative is not getting out.”
Pushing back against new mask mandates
In regards to reports of schools and businesses opting to enforce mask mandates, Kirk asked Ladapo, “how do we properly push back against this?”
Ladapo said to look at examples of people who have “really stood their ground and said that they’re not going to budge.”
“Governor DeSantis is an example of that,” Ladapo said.
Ladapo has previously praised the governor for his handling of the pandemic.
He encouraged people to “stand up for what you believe in, and what resonates with your soul and your connection with God.”
Ladapo said it’s “not covering yourself up or making other people cover themselves up, especially considering that there’s no good clinical benefit from doing it.”
“I mean, the scientific data is just not there to support it. So I’m hoping people really do say no,” Ladapo said.
Ladapo took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to further share his thoughts on the mask policies Thursday.
“What do you call re-imposing mask policies that have been proven ineffective or restarting lockdowns that are known to cause harm? You don’t call it sanity,” Ladapo said.
“These terrible policies only work with your cooperation. How about refusing to participate…” he said.
With his strong opinions and opposition to masks and vaccines, Ladapo has received criticism from Democrats in Florida over the past few years.
During a Senate committee meeting in May, Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, opposed the surgeon general’s confirmation and claimed that since Ladapo has been in office, “the childhood vaccination rate is down significantly.”
In November 2022, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist called Ladapo a “quack,” and said that he will fire Ladapo and hire “real scientists” when he becomes governor.
Crist overwhelmingly lost that race to DeSantis by nearly 20 points.
An ‘updated vaccine’ is on the way
The CDC said the COVID-19 vaccine will be updated “to provide protection against the Omicron variant XBB.1.5.”
CDC Director Mandy Cohen reportedly said they anticipate the vaccine will be available for “most folks” by the third or fourth week of September.
The FDA still needs to approve the vaccine, according to Cohen.
“We’re waiting for the FDA to do its work. We’re waiting for the CDC experts to do its work in terms of recommendations, but likely where we are headed, so folks can start to think about it, is that this will be an annual vaccine, and again, to make sure that you stay protected,” Cohen said on the podcast.
In a social media post last week, the CDC said a new study reported children who received the original COVID-19 vaccine and the updated vaccine were “protected against COVID-19–associated ER and urgent care visits.”
“For the best protection, CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone 6 months and older,” the post said.
