Dr. Ralph Lee Abraham, the Louisiana surgeon general who halted his state’s vaccine promotion campaigns and delayed warning the public about a deadly whooping cough outbreak, has quietly been installed as the second-highest official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Department of Health and Human Services did not announce this appointment. The news was first spotted by Dr. Jeremy Faust, who runs the Substack called Inside Medicine.
Abraham, a 70-year-old former Republican congressman who served three terms representing Louisiana’s 5th congressional district, started in his new role as principal deputy director on Nov. 23, according to the agency’s internal database. The HHS has since confirmed Abraham’s appointment.
