West Coast States Form Health Alliance as Alternative to CDC

California, Washington, and Oregon have announced a new West Coast Health Alliance to coordinate public health policy separately from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hawaii announced it was also joining the Alliance.

The Details: According to a joint press release, the Alliance is a shared “commitment to ensuring that public health recommendations are guided by safety, efficacy, transparency, access, and trust.” It will use guidelines informed by “trusted scientists, clinicians, and other public health leaders” to determine healthcare recommendations within the states. Some of the medical organizations specified include the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Key Quotes: The three states’ governors said, “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 CDC has become a political tool that increasingly peddles ideology instead of science...California, Oregon, and Washington will not allow the people of our states to be put at risk.”

For Context: The decision comes amid several changes to the CDC by the Trump administration and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In June, Kennedy removed all members of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). On August 28, Susan Monarez, the Director of the CDC, was fired weeks after being sworn in. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and some Democratic politicians have asked Kennedy to resign.

How the Media Covered It: CNN (Lean Left bias) highlighted other state-led initiatives to “divorce their policies from the CDC,” including its updated vaccine recommendations. Straight Arrow News (Center) contrasted the move with Florida’s decision to end childhood vaccine requirements. Fox News (Right) quoted HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon who said Democrat COVID-19 policies “completely eroded the American people’s trust in public health agencies.” It shared arguments from the joint press release, and framed the Alliance as a “rejection” of Trump.

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