Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s latest diatribe against COVID-19 vaccines took on a religious bent Thursday when he told far-right podcast host Steve Bannon that the inoculations are the “Antichrist of all products.”

A day after the Ron DeSantis appointee called for the end of mRNA vaccines because he believed they could harm DNA—a claim that experts have debunked—Ladapo reiterated his baseless contentions to Bannon.

“I think it probably does have some integration at some levels with the human genome,” Ladapo said on the War Room podcast, “because these vaccines are honestly—they’re the Antichrist of all products. So I think it probably does. But I’m not saying it does.”

  • NovaPrime
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    1 year ago

    “I think it probably…”

    1. You’re a fucking surgeon general. You shouldn’t base your opinions re: public health on what you “think” and “believe,” but on science and facts
    2. If you do have a hypothesis to that effect, then run some tests and studies and either prove it or disprove it and shut the fuck up
    3. None of this is how mRNA works. It’s a fucking messenger you disingenuous dolt
  • maynarkh@feddit.nl
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    1 year ago

    I too expect a medically trained professional that makes decisions about my health to compare certain medications to ancient beliefs of bad spirits. I mean, at this rate trusting a voodoo priest would be better, since that guy may not be insincere on purpose.

  • ramble81@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Isn’t this guy supposed to have a valid medical degree? I’m a layman and understand how mRNA vaccines work. How can he be so wildly off? Does he understand and not care or is truly stupid?

    • Candelestine@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s actually not that complicated.

      Just to illustrate, let’s look at a single facet of Iranian society under their religious totalitarians. They frequently want our technology, but they don’t want the creativity that actually creates it, because this liberal creative mindset would inevitably undermine their authority.

      Any conservative individual can adopt this conformist style, where they go ahead and absorb “what” and “how” but are far more leery of “why” questions, simply loyally parroting what they think others want them to say while not actually internalizing the lesson material.

      So, their education ends up partial. They can still become a doctor though, all that takes is a whole shitload of hard work and some intelligence.

      There’s always going to be some.

      • Telorand@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        And in fact, it turns out that being a charlatan can be quite lucrative, probably orders of magnitude more than he makes as a doctor.

  • carl_dungeon@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This should be criminal and he should be locked away. The fact that he is allowed to hold office is insanity. Religious people should not be allowed to make policy, and anti-science idiots shouldn’t be allowed to hold positions of influence and authority.

    • LavaPlanet@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Behind the scenes, most of these people have had the vaccine, too. That makes it so much more evil. They essentially want a percentage of the population to die? I don’t understand the end game. Is it just part of the culty stuff? Getting people to suspend their critical thinking entirely?

      • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        yeah I’ve wondered for a long time what the ‘plan’ was, and all I can ascertain years later is: there was no plan. They thrashed and fumbled from the beginning, explaining the US’s exceptional covid death #s. And you’re entirely correct, the ones who took the vax but downplayed it to the public are the worst of the worst.

    • Pratai@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      He’s doing us a favor. The stupid will die off and those that remain will be better off.

  • riodoro1@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Maybe let’s ban devoted religious from the scientific community? It’s in their very core to disagree with truth and disregard logic

  • Soltros@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Surgeon Generals are supposed to have medical degrees. So, either this guy got his medical degree from a diploma mill and is a really good liar, or he’s got a regular degree and is just really stupid.

  • rez_doggie@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Looks like your heart just has some bad juju. Let me call in a specialist witch doctor and he’ll have you feeling better in no time.

    • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      That’s how good lies are developed. Create and expand your lie around a grain of truth and transform it into propaganda to draw in your audience. You can always point back to that grain of truth to defend even the wildest lie.

  • Pratai@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Good. Let him brainwash all of the idiots into not taking it. The herd needs culling anyway.

    • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      the problem with this line of thought are all the innocents they’ll sneeze and cough on between covid infections 2-7, before they die. This bullshit - anti vax and anti-mask - guarantee we’ll be swimming in these idiot’s bullshit for the foreseeable future.