Tell Health and Human Services to reverse the appointment of Ralph Abraham!

Major national outlets sounded the alarm after Health and Human Services installed Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham as the second-in-command at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NPR reported that Abraham has a long record of questioning standard vaccines and blocking state vaccination campaigns. NBC News highlighted how he shut down Louisiana’s COVID-19 and flu vaccine outreach, even as the state struggled to boost immunization rates. And Truthout detailed how his actions contributed to a dangerous slowdown of public-health communication during a deadly whooping-cough outbreak that left infants dead.

Now Abraham has been elevated to one of the most influential roles in the CDC — at a time when flu, RSV, and COVID-19 are all rising across the country, and with no permanent CDC director in place. His new position gives him sweeping authority over the agency’s scientific guidance, emergency response strategy, and national disease-prevention agenda. That means his pattern of undermining vaccines could reshape public-health policy for millions of people.

If Abraham brings the same vaccine-skeptic approach to the CDC, it risks weakening national preparedness, damaging trust in science, and putting vulnerable Americans at real and immediate risk. But Congress and HHS can still act — and they will move only if they see overwhelming public pressure. A massive petition now will show that Americans reject anti-science leadership and expect qualified, evidence-driven decision-makers at the top of the CDC.

Add your name to demand that HHS reverse Ralph Abraham’s appointment.

Thanks,
Mary