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.

Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, a critic of government vaccine mandates, has been quietly appointed to one of the CDC's top positions.

A top Louisiana health official has been appointed principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, long skeptical of vaccines, is named CDC deputy director after rolling back state vaccine programs and policies.

Abraham is the latest anti-vax appointment Kennedy has made to the agency. Notably, Kennedy fired every member of an advisory board in the CDC that was tasked with providing advice on vaccines, replacing those vacancies this past summer with people who harbor anti-vaccine views similar to his own.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Ralph Lee Abraham promoted discredited treatments like ivermectin and, as Louisiana’s surgeon general, halted the state’s mass vaccination campaign.

Ralph Abraham, a Louisiana health official who stopped promoting mass vaccination vaccines, has been appointed as the CDC's principal deputy director.