The Louisiana Department of Health is prohibiting workers from promoting seasonal vaccines like flu, COVID and monkey pox. That includes advertising, promoting on social media, giving media interviews and holding vaccine events. Rosemary Westwood broke the story for NPR; she says part of the directive comes from state Surgeon General Ralph Abraham.

Cut 4 (11) “…including masking.”

L-D-H says its position now is that seasonal vaccines and other practices like wearing masks and social distancing should be individual choices. The state agency will continue to stress the need for childhood immunizations.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says the state added over 20-thousand jobs in the past year, but the state’s unemployment rate also rose, increasing from four percent last November to four-point-three percent. But L-W-C’s Emily Dipalma says that’s nothing to be concerned about…

Cut 13 (08) “…consider full employment”

Twenty-seven percent of Louisiana third graders scored well below a reading screener in the fall. But Sean Richardson reports schools will be aggressive in trying to get these students to read at grade level…

Cut 2 (36) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

State Police is investigating a fatal police shooting in Hammond on Saturday night. Authorities say a Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Deputy fatally shot 48-year-old Timothy Douglas of Ponchatoula, who was allegedly driving a stolen vehicle and got into a physical altercation with cops during a police chase.