Louisiana has wasted 12,000 doses of COVID vaccine, top health official says

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Louisiana has let 12,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine go to waste, one of Louisiana’s top health officials said.

Dr. Joseph Kanter with the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) made the announcement at the same news conference Gov. John Bel Edwards announced he was lifting most of the state’s remaining coronavirus restrictions.

Dr. Kanter said the number of wasted doses was out of the 3.85 million doses that have allocated to the state.

Both leaders urged Louisiana residents who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus to do so.

Gov. Edwards credited his ability to lift the remaining coronavirus restrictions with the wide availability of three coronavirus vaccines that have been given emergency approval by the federal government.

The governor announced Tuesday that Louisiana is ahead of only Mississippi and Alabama in terms of vaccination rates. He said he expects the state to soon announce incentivized programs, like in other states, for residents to get vaccinated but declined to provide further details.

Gov. Edwards did clarify the incentives will be covered with federal dollars but have to be appropriated by the Louisiana Legislature.

As of Monday, May 25, more than 1.42 million Louisiana residents have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to LDH.

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