(Louisiana Illuminator) - Dr. Ralph Abraham, Louisiana’s surgeon general, made it abundantly clear why the state would not promote the flu vaccine or hold events offering it to the public. It’s the second year in a row the health department has opted against such efforts.
Asked by the Illuminator at a news conference earlier this month, Abraham said his agency was “not going to do anything” to make the vaccine available at health fairs or other community events. Until Republican Gov. Jeff Landry took office in January 2024, administrations under both parties historically backed health department outreach to limit the impact of flu season.
The most recent statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 470,000 hospitalizations and 28,000 deaths related to the flu during the 2023-24 season.
Abraham said he doesn’t support mass flu vaccine events because they don’t allow for a patient to give “informed consent,” which involves a doctor explaining the pros and cons of a vaccine with the patient before that person decides whether they want to be vaccinated.
The surgeon general’s stance is problematic for multiple reasons.
First, Abraham would have to assume the average patient doesn’t do their own homework on whether the flu vaccine is right for them. Such research might include information from the Louisiana Department of Health website, which states: “Flu vaccines are safe and effective and the best way to prevent spreading seasonal flu.”
There’s also the matter of health care access. As of 2023, more than 212,000 adults and 38,000 children did not have health insurance coverage according to estimates from the Louisiana Health Insurance Survey. This means they potentially might not have had access to a flu shot except through a state-sponsored free vaccination event.
If Abraham had some irrefutable evidence that suggests the flu vaccine doesn’t work or, worse yet, is harmful, his position might have merit. But he’s acknowledged, as a practicing family physician, giving the shot to his own patients.
“I’m not an anti-flu vaxxer,” Abraham said.
“I work in the poorest part of the state,” he added. “That doesn’t mean my patients are not smart. They are very intelligent, and when given the right data, they can make the right decision.”
But what about the people who have no decision to make because the state has eliminated perhaps the only opportunity they had to obtain a flu vaccine?
Through their highly questionable choice to shutter state flu vaccine campaigns, Dr. Abraham and the Landry administration have replaced “informed consent” with “only if we say it’s OK.”
We expect unsound public health policy without rationale or evidence from the likes of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has no background in medicine. But it’s disappointing coming from a longtime Louisiana physician who’s taken an oath to act for the benefit of the sick and do no harm
_________
Greg LaRose has covered news for more than 30 years in Louisiana. Before coming to the Louisiana Illuminator, he was the chief investigative reporter for WDSU-TV in New Orleans. He previously led the government and politics team for The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com, and was editor in chief at New Orleans CityBusiness. Greg's other career stops include Tiger Rag, South Baton Rouge Journal, the Covington News Banner, Louisiana Radio Network and multiple radio stations.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
