Responding to thefederal government's shifting guidanceonvaccinesand turmoilat the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health officials in California, Oregon and Washington state have formed a new West Coast Health Alliance. The alliance's goal is to "ensure residents remain protected by science, not politics," according toa joint announcementon Sept. 3 from CaliforniaGov. Gavin Newsom, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson. The three Democratic governors said the alliance will provide recommendations to residents on immunizations and ensure the public gets credible information on vaccine safety and efficacy. The governors calledthe alliance a unified response to what they called the Trump administration's "destruction" of the CDC, the federal agency responsible forvaccine guidance. "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 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 announcement came the same day that a group of more than 1,000 current and former Department of Health and Human Services employeesreleased a letterdemanding that SecretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr.resign. The Sept. 3 letter, addressed to Kennedy and Congress, said Kennedy "continues to endanger the nation's health." Kennedy's HHS has been the subject of several controversies, including thecuts to funding of mRNA vaccine developmentand an apparent conflict that led to the White House's firing ofCDC Director Susan Monarez. Kennedy is a longtime vaccine skeptic and has spreadconspiracy theories and misinformationabout vaccines, childhood diseases and COVID-19. Meanwhile, PresidentDonald Trump, in a Sept. 1Truth Social post, demanded drug companies"justify their success" in combating the COVID-19 virus, requesting theimmediate release of internal company data. "Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree!" said Trump about COVID-19 vaccines created by Pfizer, Moderna and other drug companies. "With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW." Letter urges RFK Jr. leave post:More than 1,000 HHS workers demand RFK Jr. resigns Health officials from Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania reportedly met in August to discuss coordinating their own vaccine recommendations separate from the federal government. However, it's not the first time California, Oregon, and Washington have teamed up on health-related issues. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the three states formed the"Western States Pact"to review federal vaccine recommendations and coordinate pandemic restrictions. Two more states, Colorado and Nevada, later joined the pact. California, Oregon, and Washington became the final three states in America to lift their mask mandates. As part of the West Coast Health Alliance, the three states said they will coordinate health guidelines by aligning immunization recommendations informed by respected national medical organizations. "This will allow residents to receive consistent, science-based recommendations they can rely on – regardless of shifting federal actions," they said. Accessing a COVID-19 vaccine:RFK Jr., the CDC and confusing vaccine recommendations. What to know right now. In June, Kennedyfired all 17 membersof the CDC advisory panel that makes recommendations about who should receive vaccinations, replacing many of them with so-called vaccine skeptics. Newsom, Kotek and Fergusoncondemnedthat move. On Aug. 27, the Food and Drug Administrationset stricter guidelinesabout who can receive the latest COVID-19 vaccines, recommending the shots to only people over the age of 65 or those with existing health problems. Previously, nearly everyone 6 months and older could get vaccinated. These changescould hinder access to vaccines, as health insurers typically only cover vaccines that are recommended by the CDC. "When federal agencies abandon evidence-based recommendations in favor of ideology, we cannot continue down that same path," Washington State Secretary of HealthDennis Worshamsaid in a statement. "Our commitment is to the health and safety of our communities, protecting lives through prevention, and not yielding to unsubstantiated theories that dismiss decades of proven public health practice." Public health agency in turmoil:There's a major CDC shakeup underway. What's going on? The alliance added they will "finalize shared principles to strengthen public confidence in vaccines and in public health" in the coming weeks, they said. "Together, our states depend on the best science and knowledge available to protect public health, including scientific information about immunizations," Newsom said in a statement. "We have grave concerns about the integrity and transparency of upcoming federal vaccine recommendations and will continue to collaborate to ensure that science and sound medicine prevail to prevent any loss of life." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Three states ditch RFK's CDC with new vaccine alliance
