Staff Reports
On Friday, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the Surgeon General of Florida, released a research indicating a connection between COVID-19 immunizations and death from cardiovascular causes. He is the first state surgeon general to advise against COVID-19 vaccination for young males.
According to research conducted by Ladapo, the administration of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccination results in an increase of 84% in the relative frequency of cardiac-related mortality in men aged 18-39 years. His statement and the proposal that followed it were widely panned, with many medical professionals pointing out problems with the study.
Today, we released an analysis on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines the public needs to be aware of. This analysis showed an increased risk of cardiac-related death among men 18-39. FL will not be silent on the truth.
Guidance: https://t.co/DcWZLoMU5E
Press Release: https://t.co/Y0r9yepi7F— Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) October 7, 2022
The COVID-19 vaccine has been linked in multiple studies to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in young men. The CDC has admitted that young male recipients of the COVID-19 vaccination from Pfizer or Moderna face an elevated risk of acquiring illnesses including myocarditis and pericarditis, albeit a slight one.
While the vast majority of medical professionals and scientists recognize this risk, Ladapo is the first person in a public health position like surgeon general to advise against the vaccination of this group. When challenged with the myocarditis studies, many pro-vaccine advocates would argue that the danger of contracting myocarditis from COVID-19 itself is higher than that of contracting myocarditis from a vaccine.
An increase in cardiovascular problems of 84% would be far higher than what has been shown in previous studies. Other medical professionals were quick to point up problems with the study Ladapo presented, such as the lack of a list of authors and peer review.
The investigation, as many opponents have pointed out, did not compare cardiac death rates before and after immunization. Instead, the article contrasted the mortality rates from cardiac causes in the first 28 days after vaccination with those from weeks 5-25. However, there was no comparison to a baseline before vaccination was finished, and the data showed that the risk of cardiac-induced death was higher in the first 28 days than in the subsequent weeks.
3c. Read the references about the method!
Self-controlled case series tell us whether events (death) are occurring unusually close to an exposure (mRNA Covid vaccine), or whether their timing is due to chance.
— Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) October 10, 2022
On Monday, Ladapo addressed this specific criticism, defending the approach used to assess if adverse occurrences were "clustering" around the time of vaccination. However, the study was heavily criticized because it lacked a control group with a known death rate.
The investigation also revealed a reduced mortality rate as a result of immunization. The finding that a greater proportion of deaths were attributable to cardiac issues but fewer deaths overall led Ladapo to conclude that immunization increases the chance of dying from cardiac causes.
Note that even if the overall death rate is *lower* after vaccination and even if *cardiac* deaths are lower, the cardiac portion of the actual deaths could go up.
— Stuart Buck (@stuartbuck1) October 9, 2022
Former Surgeon General under President Trump Jerome Adams noted the several caveats the authors of the paper presented. The study's "limitations" section is one of the longest Adams has seen, he said on Twitter. Even though it sounds like a note a hostage could write ("I'm alright, my captors are friendly"… blink, nose tap), the statement that This study cannot determine the causative nature of a participant's death is made very apparent.
Policy is always about tradeoffs- who while I strongly disagree with their policy recommendations, that’s not the concern here. But tradeoffs should be based on honest discussions. The concern here is the presentation of this VERY flawed study as actual settled science.
— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) October 9, 2022
Excluded from the analysis were people who were known to have died from COVID-19 or who were found to have been infected with COVID-19. Some skeptics said that the only way to tell if any of the patients tested had ever been infected with COVID-19 was to look at their death certificates. Ladapo argued otherwise, saying that the researchers had access to additional data, such as test results.
#1. "Diagnosis codes for cardiac-related deaths are imperfect."
Yes! But that is true for every subgroup we examined. Only in young men was the risk extremely high, and it was also increased in older men.
— Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) October 10, 2022
That COVID testing status was unknown for individuals who did not die of/with COVID directly contradicts his own assertion, hence the analysis itself disproves it.
Unlike other studies of vaccine side effects, this one didn't compare the risk of COVID-19 vaccination to the danger of the virus itself. Nonetheless, Ladapo relied on it to argue that the disadvantages of immunization outweigh their advantages for young males, a view held by not all medical professionals.
The inability to pinpoint the precise cause of the deaths due to cardiovascular disease is also noted as a drawback of the study.
Ladapo's conclusion and proposal were welcomed by many anti-vaccination advocates despite the study's major shortcomings. Those groups have frequently applauded Ladapo for going against the grain on a variety of COVID-19-related topics, such as mask mandates, the necessity to keep schools open, and the efficacy and safety of vaccines.
Ladapo has been quite vocal in his criticism of the public health institution and public officials who were spearheading the fight for mandates since he was nominated to his job by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Much of the newfound skepticism toward vaccines that is sweeping the country has its roots in opposition to mandates and distrust of organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, both of which have admitted they botched significant parts of the pandemic response. Fewer Americans say they have faith in public health institutions than they did before the epidemic as a result of mistakes made by prominent figures like Dr. Anthony Fauci and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
The suppression of controversial viewpoints by major technology firms has also contributed to the escalation of hostilities. In early October, Twitter added to that phenomena by removing Ladapo's message, which it initially labeled as "misinformation," before restoring it.
The Florida state surgeon general has stated that he love[s] the dialogue that his recommendation has sparked.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Daily Caller.
