BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has appointed Dr. Evelyn Griffin, a Baton Rouge obstetrician-gynecologist, as the state’s next surgeon general, elevating a physician who has aligned herself with vaccine-skeptic positions and anti-abortion advocacy. Reporting from the Louisiana Illuminator shows Griffin was also tapped by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel implementing his new vaccine policy directives.
Griffin replaces Dr. Ralph Abraham, recently selected for a top post at the CDC. At her most recent CDC committee meeting, Griffin voted with the majority to alter longstanding hepatitis B vaccine guidance, recommending that infants born to mothers without the virus delay vaccination until two months of age. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a hepatologist, criticized the decision as a “mistake,” emphasizing the vaccine’s safety.
Griffin also presented research on aluminum-based vaccine adjuvants, a topic often cited by Kennedy despite extensive studies showing no harmful accumulation. Earlier this year, she supported changes to discontinue a combination MMR-chickenpox vaccine over small increases in fever-related seizure risk.
Her record aligns with Landry’s efforts to roll back vaccine requirements, including a 2021 student COVID-19 immunization order. Griffin has additionally advocated for Louisiana’s abortion ban, testifying against a bill that would have reduced penalties for physicians who perform abortions and collaborating with Louisiana Right to Life on post-Roe messaging.
State officials say Griffin’s leadership will influence Louisiana’s health policies during a period of national scrutiny over vaccine guidance and reproductive care.
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