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@lemmy.ml
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    10 months 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
    • pete_the_cat@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      “It has been shown to contain DNA”

      Umm, no, it contains RNA, which in turn helps produce DNA. Apparently he forgot his college biology classes.

    • Telorand@reddthat.com
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      10 months ago

      He could always…I dunno…look it up. Not like there’s a shortage of COVID vaccine studies or middle-school-level explainers to grasp how mRNA works.

      But based on his religious language, I doubt he’s interested in going against DeSantis or his pastor.

  • ramble81@lemm.ee
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    10 months 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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      10 months 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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        10 months 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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    10 months 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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      10 months 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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        10 months 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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      10 months 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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    10 months 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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    10 months 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.

  • snownyte@kbin.social
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    10 months ago

    How the hell can any of these so-called “adults” say any of this with a straight face?

    “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.”

    Well okay, fuckball, the next time your ass is suffering from a disease or anything that’d require a vaccine. Do us a favor and just suffer through it. And yes you did say it does because you believe through thinking that it does. It’s why you’ve gone through the effort to be on a shit podcast is to say it.

  • rez_doggie@lemmy.world
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    10 months 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.

  • Pratai@lemmy.ca
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    10 months 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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      10 months 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.

    • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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      10 months 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.