The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has named Dr. Ralph Abraham, Louisiana’s surgeon general, to serve as principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency’s second‑ranking post.
Abraham, 71, is a physician and former Republican congressman who was appointed Louisiana’s first surgeon general in 2024 by Governor Jeff Landry. He is also a high‑profile supporter of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and shares some of Kennedy’s skeptical views about vaccines.
As surgeon general, Abraham directed the Louisiana health department to stop promoting COVID‑19, influenza and mpox vaccines and later imposed a ban on all vaccine promotion and department‑sponsored vaccine events. He has publicly questioned COVID vaccine safety, at times calling the vaccines “dangerous,” and during a 2024 state legislative hearing said he would support investigating the discredited claim linking vaccines to autism. In the legislature, he backed measures to ban fluoride in public water systems and to expand access to ivermectin for COVID treatment; the fluoride measure failed while the ivermectin provision passed despite evidence that ivermectin is not effective against COVID.
Critics point to Abraham’s handling of public‑health emergencies as a concern. Louisiana saw its worst whooping cough outbreak in 35 years in late 2024 and 2025, with 387 cases and two infant deaths. Infants cannot receive their first pertussis vaccine until two months old but can be protected if their mothers are immunized during pregnancy. After the infant deaths, Abraham’s department waited roughly three months to issue an official alert to physicians and to release a public warning, prompting criticism that the office has been slow to respond to urgent public‑health threats.
The principal deputy director slot has been vacant since Dr. Nirav Shah resigned in February. The role is typically second in command at the CDC and can involve overseeing domestic programs and coordinating global emergency responses. The choice of Abraham has drawn strong reaction from public‑health leaders. Anne Schuchat, who served as CDC principal deputy director from 2015 to 2021, called the appointment “scary,” warning that it could shift priorities “away from health and towards danger.” Shah described the selection as “atrocious,” saying Abraham’s medical credentials may give a “scientific gloss” to anti‑vaccine views. Georgetown law professor Lawrence Gostin called the pick “irresponsible,” saying it risks eroding trust in CDC science and leadership.
The CDC operates under HHS, now led by Secretary Kennedy. The agency’s acting director is Jim O’Neill, a nonphysician who previously worked in investment. HHS has not announced a start date for Abraham.
This report is based on reporting from NPR in partnership with WWNO and KFF Health News.