Louisiana Governor Will Add COVID-19 Vaccine to Louisiana’s School Immunization Schedule after Rejecting House Committee Action

Published December 14, 2021

Louisiana – Governor John Bel Edwards confirmed December 14, 2021, in a letter to the House Committee on Health and Welfare that the Louisiana Department of Health will add the COVID-19 vaccine to the schedule of immunizations for the populations for which it currently has full Food and Drug Administration approval, which includes people 16 and older. All of Louisiana’s current parental opt-out protections would be preserved, ensuring that no kid will be forced to receive a vaccine if their parents oppose in writing.

This comes after the Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee previously rejected the Louisiana Department of Health’s vaccine proposal.

A press release from the governor’s office said that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and widely available across Louisiana and that it is credited with reducing serious infection, hospitalizations, and death.

From Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards:

“I understand that any issue around COVID-19, especially those that involve our children, can be divisive, I ask that you and your colleagues work with me to get more people in Louisiana vaccinated. It is worth noting that while many of the diseases on the public health immunization schedule were once both rampant and deadly, they are no longer serious risks for school-age children in Louisiana. This is true because almost everyone was vaccinated against these diseases, many as a condition for attending elementary school.  One can only imagine where we would be as a state if the same overheated rhetoric from last week’s meeting was applied to Polio or Measles. The development of the COVID-19 vaccines in time to help us put this pandemic behind us also requires us to do everything we can to add COVID-19 to the list of diseases that no longer pose a serious threat,” Gov. Edwards wrote to committee chair Representative Larry Bagley.

Follow this link to read the full letter from the Louisiana Governor.