Meet Ralph Lee Abraham, the CDC’s new second-in-command who believes the Affordable Care Act should be repealed and called vaccines ‘dangerous’
Dr. Louisiana’s surgeon general, who halted his state’s vaccine promotion campaigns and delayed warning the public about the deadly whooping cough outbreak, said Dr. Ralph Lee Abraham has been quietly appointed as the second-highest official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Department of Health and Human Services did not announce this appointment. The news was: for the first time Seen by Jeremy FaustThe person who runs Substack is Inside Medicine.
70 year old Ibrahim former Republican congressman The three-term incumbent representing Louisiana’s 5th congressional district began his new role as deputy chief on Nov. 23, according to the agency’s internal database. HHS has since confirmed Abraham’s appointment.
The choice aligns the CDC’s top leadership with the views of Surgeon General Robert F. Kennedy Jr. long-time vaccine skeptic. Abraham supported discredited COVID-19 treatments including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine and, According to FaustAbraham was the seventh-largest prescriber of ivermectin among nearly 12,000 practicing physicians in Louisiana in 2021, personally accounting for 1.1% of the state’s prescriptions for the anti-parasite drug. Clinical studies had already shown the ineffectiveness of ivermectin against COVID-19 by that time.
In September, Abraham told Shreveport Times He believes the Covid vaccine is “dangerous” and does not recommend it to his own patients. One Last September state legislative sessionhe claimed: “I now see graft injuries every day in my practice,” but did not specify the nature of these injuries. The claim is contradicted extensive research It shows that COVID vaccines significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths.
Abraham’s record as Louisiana’s top health official was subjected to harsh criticism. In February, he directed the Louisiana Department of Health to: stop promoting mass vaccination— a decision announced the same day Kennedy was confirmed as HHS secretary. Under his leadership, the state’s health department delayed for months warning doctors and the public about a whooping cough outbreak that killed two babies; There was the first death due to whooping cough in the state since 2018.
Executive director of the American Public Health Association, Dr. Georges Benjamin said the delayed response was unusual. “Especially with these diseases in childhood, we often miss all of these,” Benjamin said. he told NPR. “These are preventable diseases and preventable deaths.”
CDC agenda
Dr. served as the CDC’s principal deputy director for two years before resigning earlier this year. Nirav Shah, told New York Times That Abraham was “inadequate” for this position. “My jaw dropped to the floor” when he heard about the appointment, Shah said, adding that an important aspect of the role involved emergency response. He called the delayed reporting of whooping cough deaths “not only unacceptable, but shameful.”
As a congressman, Abraham consistently advocated for repeal of the Affordable Care Act. “You should come to my practice in Mangham every day and I can show you the fiasco of the ObamaCare bill, if we can call it that.” He said during a congressional debate in 2014:. “As a practicing doctor, it is currently useless and even dangerous.”
Especially, As NBC News points outAlthough he is described as a “family medicine doctor” on official Louisiana state websites, there is no evidence that Abraham is board certified in family medicine. The American Board of Family Medicine’s online database does not list him as certified, and the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners describes him only as a practicing physician. Abraham practiced veterinary medicine for ten years before earning his medical degree from LSU School of Medicine in 1994.
The appointment is of structural importance to the administration’s health agenda. The CDC does not currently have a permanent director; acting director Jim O’Neill, a former biotechnology executive without a medical qualification, Founded in August After Kennedy fired his predecessor. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, acting directors can only serve 210 days; This expires in late March unless a permanent candidate is nominated. However, as principal deputy administrator, Abraham could serve indefinitely without Senate confirmation, potentially giving Kennedy and the White House continued influence over the agency’s vaccine policies.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the Republican chairman of the Senate Health Committee and a physician, publicly clashed with Abraham over vaccine policy. In February, Cassidy criticizes Abraham’s decision “Taking these resources away from parents is not a defense of parents’ rights. It makes health care less affordable and accessible to very busy Louisianans.”
For this story, Luck It used generative AI to help with the first draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
This story first appeared on: Fortune.com
