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.
The Louisiana Department of Health “will no longer promote mass vaccination” according to a Thursday memo written by the state's top health official and obtained by 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.
“Public health is really united on this issue: For more than a century, vaccines of all kinds have been a cornerstone of improving public health in America,” Avegno told the city council on Thursday.
The city's Health Department Director Jennifer Avegno said state-supported efforts have led thousands of people to receive vaccines in the past.
.jpeg?auto=webp&width=800)
.jpg?auto=webp&width=800)
.jpg?trim=252,0,252,0&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1000)
