The former Florida surgeon general is rebuking claims by the DeSantis administration that updated COVID-19 vaccines have “not been proven to be safe or effective” and that the shots should not be recommended for individuals under the age of 65.

The COVID vaccines remain “very, very safe, and have a really proven efficacy, particularly against preventing severe disease,” Dr. Scott Rivkees, the former Florida surgeon general during the initial years of the pandemic, told ABC News.

“If they say that COVID vaccines are not safe and that they are not effective, the onus is on them to show those data,” Rivkees said.