Florida State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo announced yesterday that vaccination of 18-39 year old males against COVID-19 is now discouraged. The state health department has evaluated the vaccines via case series analysis, a technique designed to specifically evaluate vaccine safety, and found an “84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination”.

The 18 month long statewide study evaluated covid naive individuals aged 18+ who died within 25 weeks of vaccination. Cardiac related deaths were found to be significantly higher in males 25-39 with a relative incidence of 2.16 (95% confidence interval) and somewhat higher in those 60+ (1.05 RI, 95% CI). Statistical significance was not reached within any other demographic and only occurred with the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines.

It can be surmised that vaccination in the 60+ group is still recommended because all-cause mortality goes down in that group after vaccination (RI = 0.97, 95% CI) meaning the vaccines are still beneficial. It should also be noted that the study data “are preliminary, based on surveillance data, and should be interpreted with caution”. So while this study isn’t 100% conclusive, as none can be, it does provide considerable evidence to support the government’s changed but overall cautious position.

Florida adds this recommendation to its existing guidance against COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5-17 unless they have underlying conditions.

EDIT: The tweet of the announcement by Dr. Ladapo originally included in this article was removed by Twitter with the following notice: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules”.