<
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/12/20/nx-s1-5223440/louisiana-ban-public-health-promoting-covid-flu-mpox-vaccines-landry-rfk-jr-anti-vaccine>
"A group of high-level managers at the Louisiana Department of Health walked
into a Nov. 14 meeting in Baton Rouge expecting to talk about outreach and
community events.
Instead, they were told by an assistant secretary in the department and another
official that department leadership had a new policy: Advertising or otherwise
promoting the COVID, influenza or mpox vaccines, an established practice there
— and at most other public health entities in the U.S. — must stop.
NPR has confirmed the policy was discussed at this meeting, and at two other
meetings held within the department's Office of Public Health, on Oct. 3 and
Nov. 21, through interviews with four employees at the Department of Health,
which employs more than 6,500 people and is the state's largest agency.
According to the employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because
they fear losing their jobs or other forms of retaliation, the policy would be
implemented quietly and would not be put in writing.
Staffers were also told that it applies to every aspect of the health
department's work: Employees could not send out press releases, give
interviews, hold vaccine events, give presentations or create social media
posts encouraging the public to get the vaccines. They also could not put up
signs at the department's clinics that COVID, flu or mpox vaccines were
available on site.
The new policy in Louisiana was implemented as some politicians have promoted
false information about vaccines and as President-elect Donald Trump seeks to
have anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr lead the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. And some public health experts are concerned that if
other states follow Louisiana, the U.S. could face rising levels of disease and
further erosion of trust in the nation's public health infrastructure."
Via Tess.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
