(via Florida surgeon general fudged data for dubious COVID analysis, tipster says | Ars Technica)
Florida’s health department opened and then closed an investigation into the state’s polarizing surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, after a tipster claiming to have insider knowledge alleged that Ladapo “manipulated data” and committed “scientific fraud” in his final edits to what became a contentious, widely panned analysis on COVID-19 vaccine safety in young men.
“Batshit study”
The dubious analysis at the center of the controversy was posted online last October by the health department. Oddly, though, it did not list any authors or bear the health department’s letterhead or other identifiers. Ladapo used the analysis as the basis for the state’s concerning recommendation that males aged 18 to 39 should not receive an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. That recommendation goes against the recommendations of all other major health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As Ars previously reported, the analysis was roundly criticized by outside epidemiologists and other health experts, who described it as “utter rubbish,” “extremely misleading,” “comically bad,” “seriously flawed,” and “the absolute most batshit study design and analysis plan I have ever seen.” Others noted that the conclusion “smells of p-hacking” and data cherry-picking.