BATON ROUGE - Governor John Bel Edwards blocked a bill that would make discrimination based on vaccination status a crime, according to a press release sent out Monday. 

House Bill 54, had it become law, would have prohibited banning entry onto the premises of a governmental or public educational site based on whether an individual had been vaccinated against COVID.

The governor vetoed HB-54, calling it "unnecessary." The press release gave Edwards' full statement regarding the veto:

"The bill is unnecessary and perpetuates the false narrative that the residents of Louisiana face vaccine mandates to access government services or attend schools. This is not the case. The bill also seeks to undermine public confidence in vaccines, which are safe, effective, and essential to public health. For these reasons, I have vetoed the bill."