Louisiana’s surgeon general announced late Thursday that the state health department "will no longer promote mass vaccination." Here's what that could mean.

The Louisiana Department of Health "will no longer promote mass vaccination" according to a Thursday memo written by the state's top health official and obtained by The Associated Press. A department spokesperson confirmed Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham had ordered his staff to stop engaging in media campaigns and community health fairs to encourage vaccinations,

With a goal of "restoring public trust in health," Louisiana will stop promoting mass vaccines, state officials confirmed in a statement.

The Louisiana Department of Health announced this week it no longer will promote mass vaccinations in the state, saying the move was necessary to “rebuild trust.” In a letter released

And LDH has banned vaccine events and ordered staff not to promote vaccination, New Orleans Public Radio (NOPR) reported today, citing an internal memo to staff yesterday, the same day as the confirmation of vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The directive continues a dramatic shift in vaccine policy within the health department under the leadership of Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham and Deputy Surgeon General Dr. Wyche Coleman, both of whom have repeated vaccine misinformation.

The Louisiana State Medical Society and eight other medical organizations are calling for an end to the politicization of vaccines in the wake of a new Louisiana Department of Health policy banning vaccine promotion and events.