Overview
- A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed Ralph Abraham’s appointment as principal deputy director after his name was first spotted in the CDC’s internal directory by Inside Medicine.
- With Jim O’Neill serving as acting director and no permanent director in place, the principal deputy role positions Abraham as the agency’s second in command with significant operational influence.
- As Louisiana surgeon general, Abraham ordered the health department to stop promoting mass vaccination, publicly questioned Covid shots, and backed access to ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for Covid.
- Under his state leadership, officials delayed public alerts for a whooping cough surge that included two infant deaths, drawing rebukes from public health leaders.
- Reporters found no evidence he is board-certified in family medicine, and former CDC officials and health experts criticized the appointment as risking the agency’s credibility and aligning CDC leadership with Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine-skeptical agenda.