Louisiana has announced it will “no longer promote mass vaccination,” the announcement coming the same day as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s swearing in as health secretary.
A memo, sent from from Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham late Thursday, called vaccines “one tool in a toolbox to combat illnesses,” and that the state health department will no longer promote them. He claimed that conversations about specific vaccines should be held between patient and health-care provider, according to ABC News.
The memo was issued the same day RFK Jr., a documented vaccine pessimist, was sworn in as the nation’s new health secretary, despite his wild claims about vaccinations in the past, including tying them to autism.
During his hearings that paved the way for his confirmation, Democrats worried about his public views on vaccine safety. “I asked you a simple question Bobby,” Senator Bernie Sanders said while grilling Kennedy. “Studies all over the world say it does not [cause autism].” Kennedy continued to avoid the question of whether he believed vaccines caused autism.
“Vaccines should be treated with nuance, recognizing differences between seasonal vaccines and childhood immunizations,” Abraham continued, “which are an important part of providing immunity to our children.”
He said that state health officials should not tell individuals to receive “any and all vaccines,” and to instead give them data on vaccines reducing health risks.
Reporting from NPR weeks prior showed that state officials had told workers to stop promoting COVID-19, flu, and mpox vaccines. The state was notorious for having some of the lowest vaccine rates during the pandemic.
The New Orleans Health Department pushed back against the order, as the only agency in the entire state that works independently from Louisiana’s health department.
“We will continue to strongly promote childhood and seasonal vaccination, and expand our efforts locally to fill any gaps left by the state’s new direction,” Dr. Jennifer Avegno, director of the New Orleans Health Department, wrote, according to The New York Times.
