Florida official rebuked after vaccine advisory
ORLANDO, Fla. — U.S. health agencies have sent a letter to Florida’s surgeon general, warning him that his claims about COVID-19 vaccine risks are harmful to the public.
The letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was sent Friday to Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo. It was a response to a letter Ladapo had written the agencies last month, expressing concerns about what he described as adverse effects from mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
Ladapo was appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021 and has attracted national scrutiny over his close alignment with the governor in opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other health policies embraced by the federal government.
Ladapo last year released guidance recommending against COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children, contradicting federal public health leaders whose advice says all kids should get the shots.
He also has recommended against men ages 18 to 39 getting the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, claiming that an analysis by the Florida Department of Health showed an 84% increase in cardiac-related deaths.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A rocket made almost completely of 3D-printed parts came within a half-second of blasting off Saturday on its debut flight, but remained grounded after back-to-back launch aborts.
The engines ignited, but abruptly shut down, leaving Relativity Space’s rocket, named Terran, standing on its pad.
Launch controllers reset the countdown clocks and aimed for the last possible moment of the three-hour window at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. But once again, on-board flight computers halted the countdown, this time with 45 seconds remaining. Relativity Space blamed the afternoon’s first problem on automation software and the second on low fuel pressure.
SARASOTA, Fla. — Residents are complaining about burning eyes and breathing problems. Dead fish have washed up on beaches. A beachside festival has been canceled, even though it wasn’t scheduled for another month.
Florida’s southwest coast experienced a flare-up of the toxic red tide algae this week, setting off concerns that it could continue to stick around for a while. The current bloom started in October.
The annual BeachFest in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, sponsored by a homeowners’ association, was canceled after it determined, with help from the city and the Pinellas County Health Department, that red tide likely would continue through the middle of next month when the festival was scheduled.