Louisiana Will No Longer Promote Vaccination

The Louisiana Department of Health announced that it will no longer support mass vaccination statewide. Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham and Deputy Surgeon General Wyche Coleman III, released a letter citing the promotion of vaccine use as one of many “Covid missteps.”

The same day as the confirmation of vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, an internal LDH memo ordered staff not to promote vaccination. Abraham and Coleman called for rejecting a “utilitarian approach,” arguing that medical decisions should remain between doctors and patients, saying, “Government should admit the limitations of its role in people’s lives and pull back its tentacles from the practice of medicine.”

“Perhaps there are some treatments that every human being should take, but they are few and far between, and things that are good generally don’t have to be pushed by the government,” they said.

In December, New Orleans Public Radio reported that LDH employees had been instructed not to produce news releases, presentations or social media posts urging vaccination against COVID-19, flu or m-pox. The now-released directive means the state government will immediately stop using media campaigns to promote and distribute immunization vaccines that have been proven to be effective.

“Trust is built over years and lost in seconds, and we’re still rebuilding from the Covid missteps,” referencing it as an “offense against personal autonomy that will take years to overcome,” Abraham and Coleman said.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisana), a doctor himself, criticized the decision, calling it a disservice to parents who want to keep their children healthy. Cassidy, who has not always agreed with President Donald Trump, voted to confirm past anti-vaccine critic RFK Jr. as HHS secretary.

The announcement has sparked fears across the state that lower vaccination rates could lead to increased sickness, hospitalization, and even death in the 4.5 million-person state. It has also provoked the fear that diseases such as measles and polio, which vaccines have mostly eradicated, could make a comeback.

Early phases of the Covid-19 pandemic have recently impacted Louisiana communities, along with a surge in influenza cases. Louisiana’s neighboring state, Texas, reported about 50 cases of measles on Friday, amounting to the state’s worst outbreak in three decades.

Abraham and Coleman said in the news release that the state will be focusing on promoting make-up disease screenings, substance abuse and mental illness treatments, chronic disease rates, and reducing infant death rates.