State health officials say that Louisiana residents should decide for themselves whether to get vaccinated, especially for COVID-19 and influenza, breaking with broad vaccination campaigns at the agency in recent years and drawing rebukes from New Orleans officials and health experts.

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,

In 2023, 652 people in Louisiana died of COVID, including five children, and the state is tied with Washington, D.C., for the highest rate of flu in the U.S. Flu killed 586 people in Louisiana in 2022, according to data from the state’s health department.

"We're really talking about deaths. Even a reduction in flu and COVID vaccines can lead to increased deaths," one Louisiana Dept. Of Health employee said.

A person in Louisiana has the first severe illness caused by bird flu in the U.S., health officials said Wednesday.

Louisiana has some of the highest flu and respiratory virus activity in the nation, but if you look at the Louisiana Surgeon General’s latest social media post regarding tips for flu season, a flu shot is not mentioned.

Louisiana public health officials are no longer permitted to promote vaccines, including those against illnesses such as COVID-19 and the flu, to members of the public in a new policy that was covertly implemented in the state.