evidence: On Wednesday Florida’s state surgeon general Joseph Ladapo called for stopping the use of messenger RNA–based COVID vaccines, citing—without convincing evidence—concerns about DNA fragments from the vaccines entering the human genome. Experts, including those at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, say the claims are unfounded and that this warning could cause great harm by preventing people from getting a potentially lifesaving vaccine. [...] This is not the first time Ladapo has questioned the safety of COVID mRNA vaccines. In 2022 he recommended against children age 17 or younger getting the vaccines, falsely claiming that the shots didn’t help and might even cause harm. [...] Offit acknowledges that any vaccine or medicine comes with potential risks as well as benefits. The Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine was found to cause rare and sometimes fatal blood clots in some people and was removed from the market. The mRNA vaccines, while largely safe, come with a small but nonzero risk of myocarditis, primarily in teenage boys and young men. The risk of myocarditis from COVID itself is higher, however, and COVID-related myocarditis tends to be more severe. For those concerned about mRNA vaccines, there are other vaccines available, such as the one made by Novavax.