With DeSantis At His Side, City Employee Falsely Claims COVID ‘Vaccine Changes Your RNA’

Gov. Ron DeSantis stood by on Monday as a city employee incorrectly claimed that the COVID-19 vaccination “changes your RNA” at a Gainesville news conference.

Darris Friend, who has worked for Gainesville for more than two decades, followed his false claim up with, “So for me, that’s a problem. It’s about our freedom and liberty. It’s not about the vaccine.”

DeSantis did not correct Friend’s false claim at the time or after the press conference.

The governor’s office did issue a response to the clip, saying, “The governor has never said the vaccine changes your RNA. This is not the governor’s opinion.”

At the Ron DeSantis press conference today, a guest claimed that the COVID vaccines change your RNA which is absolutely false.

I'm putting this longer clip here so you can see that DeSantis did nothing to correct this misinformation, which is prevalent in he anti-vaxx movement. pic.twitter.com/Sqq7RbaHF2

— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) September 13, 2021