California, Oregon, Washington announce formation of new health alliance

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The West Coast states are teaming up to create a new health alliance in response to the actions of President Donald Trump, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and the ongoing changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Wednesday, Govs. Tina Kotek, Bob Ferguson, and Gavin Newsom, of Oregon, Washington, and California, respectively, announced the creation of the West Coast Health Alliance — a group to share public health information “to ensure residents remain protected by science, not politics.”

In a joint release, the three governors cited the mass firing of CDC doctors and scientists, as well as the politicization of the agency.

“President Donald 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 statement said. “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.”

According to a release from Gov. Kotek’s office, the new alliance will align public health recommendations across the three states, ensuring that decisions are informed by trusted scientists, clinicians and public health leaders.

They are also working to make sure that immunization recommendations are informed by national medical organizations and that the public will always have access to “consistent, science-based recommendations they can rely on.”

The announcement follows the three governors’ condemnations of Kennedy’s removal of the 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in June.

Also on Wednesday, more than 1,000 current and former employees of the Department of Health and Human Services called for Kennedy to resign, Nexstar’s The Hill reports. A letter from the group cited Kennedy’s ousting of CDC director Susan Monarez and the subsequent resignations of four top agency leaders.

“We believe health policy should be based in strong, evidence-based principles rather than partisan politics. But under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, HHS policies are placing the health of all Americans at risk, regardless of their politics,” the letter states.