California, Oregon, and Washington are joining forces to combat Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s dismantling of public health infrastructure, the states announced Wednesday.
The coalition of the three Democratic-run states will work together to set evidence-based health policy and guidelines, separate from the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendations. This move comes after a week of chaos at the CDC after RFK Jr. fired the agency’s director. Several other high-ranking officials resigned in protest.
“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, 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,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a press release.
According to the announcement, the new “Health Alliance” will focus largely on vaccine and immunization recommendations. The alliance attempts to ensure that manufacturers, health plans, doctors, and residents alike can get scientifically proven guidance, regardless of what’s happening on the federal level.
“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,” said Dennis Worsham, Washington’s secretary of health.
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