This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
West Coast states are taking health into their own hands.
Washington, Oregon, and California have launched a groundbreaking West Coast Health Alliance to counter what leaders call federal mismanagement of public health. The alliance aims to deliver science-driven vaccine guidance and restore public trust.
Governor Bob Ferguson announced that the move ensures residents get clear, consistent health information — free from political interference.
“President Trump’s mass firing of CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] doctors and scientists — and his blatant politicization of the agency — is a direct assault on the health and safety of the American people,” Ferguson said in a joint statement alongside California Governor Gavin Newsom and Oregon Governor Tina Kotek. “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.”
Through this partnership, the three West Coast states 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.
“Washington State will not compromise when it comes to our values: science drives our public health policy,” Dennis Worsham, the Secretary of Health for the Washington State Department of Health, stated. “Public health at its core is about prevention — preventing illness, preventing the spread of disease, and preventing early, avoidable deaths. We stand firmly with trusted medical professionals and organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as well as fellow West Coast health agencies — whose guidance remains rooted in rigorous research and clinical expertise.”
Turmoil within the CDC
In June, California, Oregon, and Washington condemned Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s removal of all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Susan Monarez, a longtime government scientist, was placed as the director of the CDC, only to be removed just months after she wassworn in.
While Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has yet to explain why he decided to remove Monarez, the White House has said that she was “not aligned” with the president’s agenda. Her dismissal was followed by a string of resignations in protest.
Nine former leaders of the CDC have spoken out against Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. In an open letter to The New York Times, they criticized Kennedy’s decision to restrict vaccines, pull funding for research, and fire thousands of healthcare workers.
On Tuesday, Kennedy stated that the CDC had strayed from its “core mission.”
1,000+ HHS employees asking for RFK Jr. to resign
One thousand and forty workers for the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department are demanding that Robert F Kennedy Jr. should resign, according to an open letter, insisting the health secretary’s attacks on vaccines endanger the lives of all Americans.
In the letter, the workers express their disagreement with Kennedy’s appointment of “political ideologues who pose as scientific experts” to key positions. This includes the vaccine advisory panel. Several members have touted discredited theories, according to the HSSS employees, such as the long-disproven link between vaccines and autism.
“We believe health policy should be based on strong, evidence-based principles rather than partisan politics,” the letter read, according to The Guardian. “But under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, HHS policies are placing the health of all Americans at risk, regardless of their politics.”
President Trump posted on social media that the CDC was being “ripped apart” by the vaccines controversy, voicing his displeasure in the ensuing chaos.
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