Louisiana Surgeon General Advocates Personal Choice for Vaccinations, With Limited Discussions Around Immunizations
In a statement, the official, Ralph Abraham, MD, along with the state’s deputy surgeon general, wrote that because of “COVID missteps” they will no longer encourage vaccination to people.
Image credit: Rosie Kerr
The Louisiana Surgeon General, Ralph Abraham, MD, is advocating for autonomy over one’s body and that the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) will no longer be publicly promoting vaccination, but rather saying it is a discussion between people and their providers.1 Abraham told the LDH staff to not encourage vaccines, and LDH will no longer have vaccination events, according to a memo sent late last week (see below).2
“The State of Louisiana and LDH have historically promoted vaccines for vaccine preventable illnesses through our parish health units (PHUs), community health fairs, partnerships and media campaigns. While we encourage each patient to discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination with their provider, LDH will no longer promote mass vaccination,” Abraham wrote in the memo.2
“LDH's role as a state health agency is to present scientifically-based information about health care and public health interventions. As this relates to vaccines, LDH staff are directed to use language with a renewed focus on meeting people where they are. Rather than instructing individuals to receive any and all vaccines, LDH staff should communicate data regarding the reduced risk of disease, hospitalization, and death associated with a vaccine and encourage individuals to discuss considerations for vaccination with their healthcare provider,” Abraham wrote in his memo.2
Abraham blames the COVID-19 pandemic handling by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as his reasoning for these decisions.
“Within months of their approval, COVID vaccines were shown to have no third-party benefit in terms of reduced transmission, yet they were still mandated — through both policy and social pressure. That was an offense against personal autonomy that will take years to overcome. Even now, the CDC recommends that 6-month-olds receive COVID vaccinations — woefully out of touch with reality and with most parents, who have less faith than ever in the merit of the CDC’s recommendations,” Abraham and Wyche Coleman, III, MD, deputy surgeon general, wrote in a separate, public statement, released last week. 1
"Restoring trust in public health starts with restoring trust in medicine,” part of a headline in their statement read. 1
“Perhaps there are some treatments that every human being should take, but they are few and far between, and things that are good generally don’t have to be pushed by the government. Medical decision-making is a zero-sum game: when outside forces get involved, patient autonomy is sacrificed. We should empower people to make better decisions for themselves, keeping in mind that maximizing benefits for individuals will lead to maximal benefit for the population as a whole,” Abraham and Coleman write.1
LDH memo sent to staff from state Surgeon General.
Louisiana’s Vaccination Rates
The state’s completed childhood immunization rate is already lagging behind what children need for maximum protection. For measles, every community needs to have a 95% immunity rate or higher for the MMR vaccine for protection against outbreaks. According to LDH data, for the 2020-2021 school year, the statewide vaccination rate for kindergartners was 94.5%.3 And in the 2023-2024 school year, the statewide vaccination rate for kindergartners in Louisiana was 85.96%.4 This demonstrates a significant drop of nearly 10% in just a few years.
Compared to other states, Louisiana has the third lowest childhood vaccination rate in the country, at 62.0%, only ahead of West Virginia and Alaska.5
In terms of COVID-19 vaccination rates, 55% of Louisiana's population are considered fully vaccinated. Additionally, people or <1% of Louisiana's population have received a booster dose.6
With these newer state strategies in place, it can be expected that vaccination rates for children’s immunizations as well as vaccines for seasonal respiratory viruses will continue to decrease, making people in Louisiana more susceptible for viruses and diseases such as measles, potentially polio, COVID-19, and influenza.
