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A coalition of West Coast, Democratic-led states on Wednesday announced a new public health alliance formed in defiance of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with the states saying it will provide “science-driven” advice on vaccines.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) and Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) announced the launch of the West Coast Health Alliance just days after Kennedy sacked the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The health secretary has also overhauled the CDC’s vaccine advisory board, appointing multiple like-minded vaccine skeptics.
“President Trump’s mass firing of CDC doctors and scientists — and his blatant politicization of the agency — is a direct assault on the health and safety of the American people,” the governors said in a joint statement. “The CDC has become a political tool that increasingly peddles ideology instead of science, ideology that will lead to severe health consequences. California, Oregon, and Washington will not allow the people of our states to be put at risk.”
The alliance will provide “evidence-based unified recommendations to their residents regarding who should receive immunizations and to help ensure the public has access and credible information for confidence in vaccine safety and efficacy,” the statement added.
After former CDC Director Susan Monarez was forced out, four top leaders at the CDC resigned. In their parting words, they claimed Kennedy’s leadership was interfering with their public health mission.
Attorneys representing Monarez say she refused to sign off on “unscientific, reckless directives” and was targeted as a result.
In their announcement, the West Coast governors cited the Trump administration’s “destruction of the U.S. CDC’s credibility and scientific integrity” as having spurred the creation of the alliance.
“The dismantling of public health and dismissal of experienced and respected health leaders and advisors, along with the lack of using science, data, and evidence to improve our nation’s health are placing lives at risk,” said Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health.
“Vaccines are among the most powerful tools in modern medicine; they have indisputably saved millions of lives. But when guidance about their use becomes inconsistent or politicized, it undermines public trust at precisely the moment we need it most,” Oregon Health Authority Director Sejal Hathi said.
Dennis Worsham, Washington Secretary of Health, said, “Washington State will not compromise when it comes to our values: science drives our public health policy. Public health at its core is about prevention — preventing illness, preventing the spread of disease, and preventing early, avoidable deaths.”
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon, asked to comment on the initiative, criticized the states for their COVID policies.
“Democrat-run states that pushed unscientific school lockdowns, toddler mask mandates, and draconian vaccine passports during the COVID era completely eroded the American people’s trust in public health agencies,” he said.
Nixon also defended the overhauled Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which is set to meet later this month.
“ACIP remains the scientific body guiding immunization recommendations in this country, and HHS will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science, not the failed politics of the pandemic,” he said.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
