Employees of that state’s health department are also not allowed to distribute press releases, give interviews, hold vaccine events, give presentations or create social media posts encouraging the public to get these vaccines. They were even told in three separate meetings that they are not allowed to put up signs at the department's clinics stating vaccines are available on site.
The state health officer of Mississippi, Dr. Dan Edney, expressed concern for Louisiana’s public health workers.
“It's disappointing for them to be put under that type of pressure,” he said. “As a practicing physician in Mississippi for 34 plus years, I've been promoting flu shots since the early 1990s. I know as a clinician how important flu vaccinations are to reduce the severity of flu, to reduce the number of our flu days, to reduce the number of our flu hospitalizations.”
Louisiana is currently tied with Oregon for the highest rate of flu in the country. Just one state over, Mississippi’s flu rate is categorized as very high. In 2022, Mississippi had the second highest mortality rate from flu in the country. Seasonal flu shots are recommended by the CDC each year for everyone six months of age and older.
“Flu vaccination is a core part of population health for the wintertime,” Dr. Edney said.
He says the flu can be devastating for vulnerable populations, especially the very young, the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.
“We lose children to flu every year,” Dr. Edney said. “We've already lost at least two children to RSV this year. So for me, it would be a dereliction of my duty not to promote these potentially life saving vaccines and make sure that all populations have access to it.”
He adds that vaccines are a vital part of his department’s public health mission.
“Vaccines are one of the greatest achievements that we have made in modern medicine,” Dr. Edney said. “It saves millions of lives every year. They are highly regulated, intensely studied, and very safe and effective.”
Meanwhile, Mississippi currently has the fourth highest mortality rate from COVID-19 in the nation.
“We're in a much better place with COVID than we were two or three years ago,” Dr. Edney said. “It's a whole different world. We still have COVID deaths every month and we still are emphasizing the vaccination for the most vulnerable, but we now have population immunity that we didn't have three years ago.”
He added the state was able to navigate the pandemic without exerting very much public health authority.
“The governor used his authority,” Dr. Edney said. “I am very quick to tell people if we were able to navigate the pandemic successfully without exerting a lot of public health authority, that should say it all. We respect the authority that's delegated to us.”
Several Mississippi counties border Louisiana, raising the question of whether the change in vaccination policies will result in disease spillover between the two states.
“We already do have spillover,” Edney said. “We've had a couple of measles cases spill over. Thankfully, our measles vaccination rates are so high that it didn't go anywhere. Our rates are significantly higher than Louisiana's. So the fact that we have a high level of vaccine induced immunity among our entire population really protects us from that spillover.”
Louisiana’s department of health is the state’s largest agency. During the 2024 session, the Republican-controlled legislature passed several controversial health related bills, including one restricting the jurisdiction of international health organizations in the state and others that stirred doubt about vaccine safety.
“Thankfully, we don't have any of this pressure,” Dr. Edney said. “In Mississippi, we've had none whatsoever. I think we in public health in Mississippi are in a trusted place. We work hard to be trusted providers and public health and trusted scientists and trusted public health policymakers.”
He says Mississippi’s department of health is structured towards helping the public understand how to take care of their health.
“We spend a lot of effort with communications to make sure folks know where they can get their vaccines,” he said. “For folks who don't have insurance, making sure they know they can go to a county health department and be taken care of. Many people don't just know that on their own.”
