Guest column: State leaders’ irresponsible COVID comments do more harm than good

The COVID-19 pandemic tested everyone across Louisiana. As professionals who were at the forefront of the response, we know how difficult those years were.

We’re proud of Louisiana’s collective efforts to slow the spread and save lives. But the pandemic also taught us hard lessons. We must learn from those lessons to prepare for future health crises.

Recent hearings held by the Louisiana House Select Committee on Homeland Security provided an opportunity for such reflection. Instead, they were dominated by conspiracy theories and political posturing.

State Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Gray, disputed the reality faced by hospitals during the pandemic — despite overwhelming data and well-documented accounts of overwhelmed hospitals, exhausted health care workers and families desperate for care. Rep. Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, casually doubted the existence of the “supposed pandemic.”

But what’s more dangerous than anti-vaccine politicians sowing doubt is state health officials promoting false health information.

Louisiana’s surgeon general, Dr. Ralph Abraham, claimed to see COVID-19 vaccine injuries daily in his clinic. Data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows serious side effects are exceedingly rare, with the overwhelming majority of reactions being mild, like a sore arm or fever. Even more concerning, the state official responsible for disease prevention stated he would not recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to any of his patients.

Such comments by Abraham risk fueling unnecessary fear, leading to lower vaccination rates and a rise in preventable disease outbreaks — as we’re already seeing across the country.

Deputy Surgeon General Wyche Coleman, an ophthalmologist, promoted the long-debunked conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism. Numerous randomized studies, conducted across different countries and involving hundreds of thousands of participants, have consistently found no link between vaccines and autism.

Both Abraham and Coleman claimed the risks of COVID-19 vaccination in children outweigh the benefits — contrary to data, expert consensus and the experiences of Louisiana families who’ve lost children to the virus. COVID-19 vaccines underwent rigorous testing and are highly effective in reducing severe outcomes in children, including hospitalization and long COVID, per the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Vaccines saved lives. According to the Commonwealth Fund, COVID-19 vaccines prevented more than 18 million hospitalizations and 3 million deaths nationwide in just the first two years of the vaccine rollout. These numbers represent grandparents who got to see their grandchildren again, parents who returned home to their families and children who remained healthy.

Healthy, honest debate about policy decisions is necessary to improve public health. But false health information from state health officials can have deadly consequences. It sows confusion, erodes trust and leaves Louisiana families uncertain about how best to protect themselves.

The state health department’s mission has always been to protect the health of every Louisianan — regardless of background or political affiliation. The focus should be on using the best available data and evidence to keep communities safe. Yet, in recent weeks, public health professionals have raised concerns that the anti-science rhetoric from these hearings is already influencing LDH policies and programs, including the decades-long practice of promoting flu vaccines. Recent CDC data shows that flu deaths in children have hit a record as vaccination rates decline.

We urge our leaders to remember that words matter. Spreading falsehoods about public health measures may serve short-term political ends, but it jeopardizes the well-being of Louisiana families. We have always risen to meet challenges when we set aside politics and focus on solutions. Let’s not let political gamesmanship endanger our health and safety.

If you have questions about COVID-19 or other vaccines, we encourage you to talk to your doctor or pharmacist. You can find vaccines near you at www.vaccines.gov.