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Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham published guidance to the state’s health department saying it would “no longer promote mass vaccination.”
“Here’s the policy we issued to staff. Conversations about specific vaccines, and whether or not a vaccine is right for a specific person, are best had with the individual’s healthcare provider, who best understands their individual situation and relevant medical history,” Abraham wrote.
“While we encourage each patient to discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination with their provider, LDH will no longer promote mass vaccination,” the guidance read.
Here’s the policy we issued to staff.
Conversations about specific vaccines, and whether or not a vaccine is right for a specific person, are best had with the individual’s healthcare provider, who best understands their individual situation and relevant medical history. pic.twitter.com/Wv3Gyk63kY
— Louisiana Office of the Surgeon General (@la_surgeon) February 14, 2025
A closer look:
Unsurprisingly, mainstream media panicked about the new guidance.
In a surprising announcement, Louisiana’s surgeon general announced that the state health department “will no longer promote mass vaccination.”
Here’s what that could mean: https://t.co/CeqP3wHCI5
— ABC News (@ABC) February 14, 2025
Per ABC News:
In a memo to staff members, Dr. Ralph Abraham described vaccines as “one tool in a toolbox” to combat severe illness and that conversations about specific vaccines are best held between an individual and their health care provider.
It comes on the heels of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation to lead the Department of Health & Human Services under President Donald Trump. Kennedy has spread unfounded claims about vaccines, including that they cause autism and that certain vaccines are “dangerous.”
Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccinologist and co-director of The Atria Research Institute — which focuses on disease prevention — described the policy change as “anti-science” and said there is good public health research data to support mass vaccination.
“I’ve grown up in an era where other than smallpox, DPT and flu vaccine, we didn’t have any of the vaccines we had today, and so we, or friends of ours, got infected, got sick, missed school, some developing polio,” he told ABC News. “I mean, it’s just shocking to think we would take such a critical public health tool and deconstruct it or invalidate it. I can’t believe it.”
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the division of infectious diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said not promoting vaccinations could lead to increased hospitalizations and deaths, especially if an outbreak of an incredibly contagious disease, such as measles, emerges.
“On its surface, it makes no sense,” Offit told ABC News. “If there was an outbreak of measles, for example, and it started to sweep through the state … Would you then say, ‘No, you can do what you want. If you want to get a vaccine, fine. If you don’t, that’s fine,’ knowing that there are people in the state of Louisiana who can’t be vaccinated, knowing that they depend on those around them to protect them?”
Offit said that the change in vaccine promotion in Louisiana appears to be endorsing the idea of medical freedom and individual freedom over collective responsibility, which is “dangerous.”
The Louisiana Department of Health said it will no longer promote mass vaccination, in a letter released by the state’s surgeon general explaining its decision.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health confirmed that Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham had ordered his…
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) February 14, 2025
Louisiana Department of Health officially ends mass vaccinations, bans staff from promoting seasonal vaccines https://t.co/qoSetQ2Lv7
— NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) February 13, 2025
“Some vaccines are good for most. Some vaccines are good for some. Some vaccines are good for few and some vaccines are good for none,” Abraham said.
“That’s why the relationship between the doctor and the patient must be injected – pun intended – into the decision of whether a patient should receive a particular vaccine. Failure to do so is vaccine malpractice. First, do no harm. Second, respect the patient’s individual autonomy of choice whether you agree with their decision or not,” he continued.
“Collectivist ideologies willing to sacrifice a few for the greater good seldom work and are a poor way to practice medicine. Each drug should be viewed based on its own merits, but ultimately the decision to take any pharmaceutical product should be left to the patient, in consultation with their doctor, free from any coercion from the Louisiana Department of Health,” he added.
Some vaccines are good for most. Some vaccines are good for some. Some vaccines are good for few and some vaccines are good for none.
That’s why the relationship between the doctor and the patient must be injected – pun intended – into the decision of whether a patient should… pic.twitter.com/1TvZdjQ7GU
— Louisiana Office of the Surgeon General (@la_surgeon) February 13, 2025
A closer look:
From the Associated Press:
In a separate letter posted on the department’s website, Louisiana’s surgeon general decried “blanket government mandates” for vaccines and criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 vaccination push. Individuals should make their own decisions about vaccinations, Abraham said.
“Government should admit the limitations of its role in people’s lives and pull back its tentacles from the practice of medicine,” said Abraham, a Republican.
The department will still “stock and provide vaccines,” according to Abraham’s memo.
Jennifer Herricks, founder of the advocacy group Louisiana Families for Vaccines, said she feared that the new directive would lead to an increase in preventable illnesses and deaths.
“We are very concerned for people in Louisiana who have historically depended on vaccination drives to get easily accessible vaccines that are no longer going to be available,” Herricks said.
In liberal New Orleans, the city council passed a resolution Thursday vowing to continue supporting vaccination efforts.
The city’s Health Department Director Jennifer Avegno said state-supported efforts have led thousands of people to receive vaccines in the past. However, she anticipates vaccination rates for preventable diseases will drop due to the state’s new policy and misinformation promoted by the surgeon general’s letter. She pointed out that vaccines are most effective when they are widespread.