Louisiana’s top health official said in an internal memo to the state’s Health Department on Thursday that it would no longer use media campaigns or health fairs to promote vaccination against preventable illnesses.
The official, Dr. Ralph L. Abraham, Louisiana’s surgeon general, wrote in the memo that the state would “encourage each patient to discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination with their provider” but would “no longer promote mass vaccination.”
The letter came on a day when the U.S. Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has raised questions about vaccines, as the new U.S. health secretary. But it was not clear if the memo had come in response to the change in federal leadership.
“Vaccines should be treated with nuance, recognizing differences between seasonal vaccines and childhood immunizations, which are an important part of providing immunity to our children,” wrote Dr. Abraham, a former Republican congressman.
The official, Dr. Ralph L. Abraham, Louisiana’s surgeon general, wrote in the memo that the state would “encourage each patient to discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination with their provider” but would “no longer promote mass vaccination.”
The letter came on a day when the U.S. Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has raised questions about vaccines, as the new U.S. health secretary. But it was not clear if the memo had come in response to the change in federal leadership.
“Vaccines should be treated with nuance, recognizing differences between seasonal vaccines and childhood immunizations, which are an important part of providing immunity to our children,” wrote Dr. Abraham, a former Republican congressman.
