3 states take vaccine guidance into their own hands: 5 notes

California, Oregon and Washington are forming a health alliance that would coordinate vaccine recommendations for their residents, according to a Sept. 3 joint news release.

Here is what to know:

1. The West Coast Health Alliance is intended to provide residents with scientific data on vaccine safety and efficacy, as well as issue vaccine guidance for respiratory illnesses and childhood immunizations.

2. Governors of the three states said the CDC has become “a political tool that increasingly peddles ideology instead of science, ideology that will lead to severe health consequences.” The new alliance is meant to protect residents against the “politicization of science” by using “consistent, science-based recommendations they can rely on — regardless of shifting federal actions.”

3. This is not the first time states have created working groups to address infections. During the pandemic, western states formed a similar working group to boost public confidence in vaccines. In June, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis launched efforts to create its own vaccine committee to replace the dissolved Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. States in the Northeast have also gathered recently to discuss making a vaccine recommendations alliance. 

4. The West Coast Health Alliance comes amid uncertainty and turmoil in the CDC and its vaccine groups. Recently, the Trump administration selected Jim O’Neill — the agency’s deputy secretary — to serve as acting CDC director after Susan Monarez, PhD, was ousted from the role after one month. All this amid a confrontation with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. concerning forthcoming vaccine recommendations and other “reckless directives,” according to Dr. Monarez’s attorneys.
5. In June, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington criticized Mr. Kennedy’s decision to dismiss all 17 vaccine experts on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Mr. Kennedy has also been criticized for ending $500 million in federal funding for mRNA vaccines.

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