The Louisiana Department of Health “will no longer promote mass vaccination.” That's according to a Thursday memo written by the state’s top health official and obtained by The Associated Press.

A department spokesperson confirmed Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham had ordered his staff to stop engaging in media campaigns and community health fairs to encourage vaccinations, even as the state has experienced a surge in influenza.

Abraham’s announcement occurred the same day vaccine skepticRobert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in by the U.S. Senate to serve as President Donald Trump’s health secretary.

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.

  • Hazor@lemmy.world
    34·
    2 years ago

    Sure, people should be able to make their own decisions. But they’ll be able to make much better-informed decisions if you do your job and educate the populace about the life-saving benefits of vaccines. This guy should be stripped of his medical license.

    • WaxiestSteam69@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      2 years ago

      I live in Louisiana. You can’t educate about vaccines here. Most people do not believe anything officials say about vaccines.