Well, I'm Goin' Down to Florida, Where the Sun Shines Near Every Day...

"The federal government has failed to provide sufficient data to support the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 boosters, or acknowledge previously demonstrated safety concerns associated with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters..."¹

The CDC has announed that the rate of vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2, RSV, & seasonal flu have fallen below 49% - the threshold necessary for herd immunity to prevent these active diseases from freely spreading - and childhood vaccinations have markedly fallen: MMR (92.7%), DTaP (92.3%), and polio, and varicella have all fallen below 93%. It seems to us that it is not often explained how the rates of vaccine impact and efficacy are actually determined, and we propose to do that.

The CDC utilizes a complex system of 1) a mathematical model, 2) a natural history & epidemiology of infection, 3) an age-specific distribution, and 4) a fatality rate. These are expressed in an system of "impact characteristics":

VE_s = efficacy in reducing suseptibility

VE_i = efficacy in reducing infectiousness

VE_p1 = efficacy in reducing infection

VE_p2 = efficacy in reducing severe/critical infection

D = Duration of protection

r = Behaviour compensation post-vaccination (e.g. reducing social distancing compared to unvaccinated)

The precise formula is thus: "Vaccination impact was assessed at: (1) VE_S = 50% but VE_I = VEP₁ = VEP₂ = 0%, (2) VE_I = 50% but VE_S = VE_p1 = VE_P2 = 0%, (3) VE_P1 = 50% but VE_S = VE_I = VEP₂ = 0%, (4) VEP = 50% but VE_S = VE_I = VEP₁ = 0%, and (5) VE_S = VE_I = VEP₁ = 50%." ²

The results of this particular instructive study, using the example of Covid-19, - as demonstrated in the graphic above - are significant in that they indicate that "even a partially efficacious vaccine can offer a fundamental solution to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic—the vaccine does not need to have sterilizing immunity to fully control the infection. Indeed, a vaccine with VE_S ≥70% could be sufficient to control the pandemic at ≥80% coverage. Even a vaccine with VE_S <70% may still control the infection if it additionally (and plausibly) induces “breakthrough” effects such as reduction in viral load (reduction in infectiousness; VE_I) or faster infection clearance (reduction in infection duration; VE_P1 ) among those vaccinated who still acquire the infection." ³

Having pointed out these facts, our point here, then, is to address the complete nonsense, factual manipulation, disinformation, and the fundamental lack of integrity on the part of the State of Florida in attempting to dissuade its residents from acquiring the Covid-19 booster immunization recommended by the CDC for the fall/winter flu season. In our minds, there simply is no rational explanation, other than an arrogant rejection of "directives" from a federal source, a pattern that has been repeated to the detriment of its most vulnerable.

Take, for example, the concerns of the Florida Surgeon General regarding "contamination" of the mRNA vaccines with DNA "remnants" from the development process:

"Potential DNA integration from the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines pose unique and elevated risk to human health and to the integrity of the human genome, including the risk that DNA integrated into sperm or egg gametes could be passed onto offspring of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine recipients."

Apparently, the Surgeon General does not appreciate the fact that the extremely rare concerns posed by these "remnants" are only applicable to DNA vaccines - which are not currently utilized in the US - and even when notified of this fact by the CDC, continues to insist that the mRNA vaccinces be suspended as "possibly dangerous to the human genome," despite the well-established fact that "The presence of some residual cellular DNA derived from the production-cell substrate in viral vaccines is inevitable," ³ and ignoring every implication that "a large scale vaccination programme may play a crucial role in achieving the herd immunity threshold, which will protect even unvaccinated/susceptible and immunocompromised individuals via indirect immune protection." And lastly, "It is increasingly believed that the likelihood of returning to pre-pandemic normalcy will greatly depend on the successful implementation of a global vaccination programme:" ⁴

With most of the world’s population remaining susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and the need to impose disruptive social-distancing interventions, vaccination is a reliable intervention in the long term. Findings show that even a partially efficacious vaccine provides a fundamental solution to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and at high cost-effectiveness. Vaccine impact and cost-effectiveness will not only depend on its efficacy in preventing infection but can be enhanced if those vaccinated who still acquire the infection have reduced infectiousness, duration of infection, and disease severity. Vaccine developers should thus not only assess the primary endpoint of reduction in acquisition but also other outcomes and/or proxy biomarkers including reductions in viral load and disease outcomes and speed of infection clearance for those vaccinated and unvaccinated. The totality of these primary and secondary endpoints may prove critical in the licensure process, decision-making, and vaccine impact once introduced into a population. ⁵

We feel it necessary to likewise comment on the "controversy" of the contamination of polio and other vaccines with the SV40 virus that 1) the current DHHS Secretary nominee, Robert Kennedy Jr. has recently claimed in - one of the most ridiculous anti-vaccine statements ever uttered: "[SV40] is one of the most carcinogenic viruses known to man… 98 million people who got that vaccine in my generation now have this explosion in soft tissue cancers [that] kill many, many, many, many, many, many more people than polio ever did” ⁶; and 2) the "Google scholar's" rush to social media judgment was quick to ignore the fact that - as vaccine manufacturer Pfizer noted in a letter to the Florida Department of Health - "The validated method for assessment of residual DNA has shown that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine meets the requirements of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the FDA for biological products. Vaccine batches are only certified and released if the criteria, during quality control testing, are met using the validated and approved method.” ⁷ And as recently as January 13, 2025, Paul Offit, MD - a physician who has served decades on the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee - wrote in an editorial in the NY Times:

Setting aside the fact that an “explosion in soft tissue cancers” hasn’t occurred, studies comparing children who received early batches of polio vaccines with unvaccinated children found no differences in cancer incidence. By 1979, paralytic polio was eliminated from the United States. When Mr. Kennedy says he wants vaccines to be better studied, what he really seems to be saying is he wants studies that confirm his fixed, immutable, science-resistant beliefs.⁸

Finally, the bulletin issued by the Florida Department of Health concludes its misinformation with a list of four generalized "health directives" that suggest "alternative" actions to the booster doses of the otherwise "unwarranted" vaccines:

• Staying physically active.
• Minimizing processed foods.
• Prioritizing vegetables and healthy fats.
• Spending time outdoors to support necessary vitamin D levels.

² Makhoul, M. et al. Epidemiological impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: mathematical modeling analyses. Vaccines, 2020, 8, 668; doi:10.3390/vaccines8040668

³ Sheng-Fowler, L., Lewis Jr., AM., Peden, K. Issues associated with residual cell-substrate DNA in viral vaccines. Biologicals, Volume 37, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 190-195, ISSN 1045-1056.

⁴ Chaudhary, JK, et al. Insights into COVID-19 vaccine development based on immunogenic structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2, host immune responses, and herd immunity. Cells 2021, 10, 2949. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10112949.

⁵ Graña, C., et al. Efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2022, Issue 12. Art. No.: CD015477. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD015477.

⁶ Offit, PA. MD, "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Should Stop Talking About Vaccines. The nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services claims that the polio vaccine killed more people than it saved." https://pauloffit.substack.com/p/robert-f-kennedy-jr-should-stop-talking. 07/25/2023.

⁷ Pfizer. “Protocol.” New England Journal of Medicine, website. Supplementary material to paper published 10 Dec 2020.

⁸ Offit, Paul A. Guest Essay: "Don’t Call Kennedy a Vaccine Skeptic. Call Him What He Is: A Cynic." The New York Times, online at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/opinion/rfk-jr-is-a-vaccine-cynic.html.