BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health has begun to slowly — and quietly — implement a policy that would prevent LDH employees from promoting multiple vaccines, bucking established practice at the department, NPR reported Friday.

NPR said they confirmed that the policy was discussed at multiple meetings within LDH's Office of Public Health. Anonymous employees said that the policy would be implemented quietly and would not be put in writing. 

A representative from Gov. Jeff Landry's office told WBRZ that they have never put anything out about forbidding public health workers from promoting vaccines. They did not deny the claims in the NPR story. 

When asked specifically about the claims NPR reported, LDH did not address them directly. Instead, the department said that any changes regarding seasonal vaccines like COVID-19 and influenza does not change its policy or messaging regarding childhood immunizations.

"As the country continues to shift out of the pandemic and public health emergency, the Department has been focused on reevaluating both the state’s health priorities as well as our messaging around vaccine promotion, especially for COVID-19 and influenza, which were a priority throughout the pandemic," LDH said in a statement.

LDH representatives added that state Surgeon General Ralph Abraham has expressed personal concerns about the efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, adding that the department’s stance is that immunization for any vaccine, along with practices like mask-wearing and social distancing, is an individual’s personal choice.

"If an individual has questions on whether or not they should get a certain vaccine, that discussion and decision should occur between a patient and their healthcare provider, who best understands their individual situation and medical history," LDH said. 

According to NPR, some of the anonymous staff at the health department fear the new policy undermines their efforts to protect the public, and violates the fundamental mission of public health to prevent illness and disease. 

"I mean, do they want to dismantle public health?" one employee at the health department told NPR.

"We're really talking about deaths," another told the public media company. "Even a reduction in flu and COVID vaccines can lead to increased deaths."