Louisiana public well being officers are now not permitted to advertise vaccines, together with these towards sicknesses resembling COVID-19 and the flu, to members of the general public in a brand new coverage that was covertly applied within the state.
The coverage was thought-about throughout two Louisiana Division of Well being conferences held on Oct. 3 and Nov. 21, reported NPR. Staff who mentioned the coverage beneath anonymity revealed that it was to be quietly applied and was by no means written down.
The boundaries positioned upon public well being staff are far-reaching. They’re forbidden from distributing press releases, giving interviews, holding vaccine occasions, giving displays or creating social media posts that advocate for the advantages of vaccines and encourage members of the general public to get them.
The coverage comes after President-Elect Donald Trump named former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his decide to steer the Division of Well being and Human Companies. RFK Jr., a identified anti-vaxxer, has ceaselessly perpetuated myths about vaccines together with one debunked conspiracy idea that factors to vaccines as the reason for autism amongst kids.
A metropolis in Florida voted to take away fluoride from its water provide, citing Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s campaign towards the chemical.
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Trump has stayed agency in his nomination of RFK Jr., stating that he’s “a lot much less radical than you’ll suppose” and that he has “a really open thoughts.”
Workers at Louisiana’s well being division have voiced frustrations with the brand new coverage, with lots of them expressing concern concerning the potential unfold of sickness because of the brand new rule.
“Do they need to dismantle public well being?” one worker on the well being division mentioned.
“We’re actually speaking about deaths,” mentioned one other. “Even a discount in flu and COVID vaccines can result in elevated deaths.”
“It is a step backwards,” mentioned Kimberly Hood, who led the Workplace of Public Well being, a subunit of the well being division, from 2021 to 2022. “It is a medical marvel that we’re lucky sufficient to reside in a time the place these vaccines can be found to us, and to not make use of that device is unconscionable.”
Initially printed by Latin Occasions.
