Florida's surgeon general said state health officials will warn everyone under 65 against getting the new Covid booster vaccine.

Dr Joseph Ladapo - who was accused of promoting faulty vaccine data last year - claimed today there is 'a complete absence of figures' about whether the updated vaccines work.

Dr Lapado - who was handpicked by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis - also promoted the false claim that there was 'not a drop of clinical trial data' supporting the vaccines. 

Speaking at a vaccine panel today, Dr Lapado said: 'I just think that at this point, with the amount of immunity that's in the community, virtually every walking human being has some degree of immunity.

'And the questions we have about safety and about effectiveness, especially safety, my judgment is it's not a good decision for young people and people who are not at high risk at this point in the pandemic.'

Dr Ladapo has repeatedly endorsed claims the vaccines are causing widespread heart problems in young people, a link has been repeatedly disproven by large studies.

Vaccines have been linked to a very small risk of myocarditis in young people, affecting about one in 30,000 under-40s after their second jab.

But cases are normally mild and resolve on their own without the need for any medical intervention.

A Covid infection is also more likely to trigger myocarditis than the vaccines, studies show.

And data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows cardiac deaths among Americans under the age of 34 are similar to pre-pandemic levels.

The updated Covid shots, approved just this week by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have been deemed safe for everyone aged six months and older and have been recommended for everyone in that age range.