Health Officials from 10 Northeast States Officially Band Together
However, Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robert Goldstein told a Bulletin reporter in Boston last week they are “actively communicating” with New Hampshire health officials on the effort. He said the collaborative is speaking with several other states that aren’t publicly involved.
“We’re having real conversations with red states, and they appreciate what we’re doing and lean on what we’re doing,” Goldstein said. “And also they can’t politically be the ones who are publicly coming out with the guidance.”
Dr. Puthiery Va, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement, called the group “an incubator for solutions in public health,” adding that Mainers are “known for their resilience, neighborly support, and a collaborative approach to solving community challenges.”
The Northeast Public Health Collaborative is now one of two such health blocs. Earlier this month, four Western states — California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii — banded together to create the West Coast Health Alliance. That bloc has been more vocal in identifying their collaboration as a response to the Trump administration.
In a joint statement, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington said that “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” and that “California, Oregon, and Washington will not allow the people of our states to be put at risk.”
On Wednesday, the West Coast Health Alliance issued its first set of recommendations. The group also recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children 6 months to 2 years old and pregnant women. And for children aged 2 to 18, they also recommend weighing a child’s risk level for COVID-19.
Andrew Nixon, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services communications director, said in a statement to the Bulletin: “Democrat-run states that pushed unscientific school lockdowns, toddler mask mandates, and draconian vaccine passports during the COVID era completely eroded the American people’s trust in public health agencies. ACIP remains the scientific body guiding immunization recommendations in this country, and HHS will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”
Some in the public health world are torn about this new development. Dr. Debra Houry, the former CDC chief medical officer who resigned last month in protest of Kennedy and the Trump administration’s upheaval of the CDC, said she worries about medical tourism by state.
“I get why people are doing it,” Houry, speaking to a group of health journalists in Massachusetts last week, said. “But it’s going to cause some confusion and haves and have-nots.”
Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health, said she worries about “a balkanization of public health.”
Still Northeastern state health departments are touting their move.
“Whether it’s responding to a pandemic or an outbreak or preparing for a large-scale event such as the upcoming FIFA World Cup, with three host cities in the Northeast, working together helps keep our residents safe and healthy,” New Jersey Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown said in the release. “We look forward to continuing to do so with our colleagues in the Collaborative.”
William Skipworth covers health for the New Hampshire Bulletin. The article appeared in Stateline. It was originally produced by New Hampshire Bulletin. Both Stateline and the New Hampshire Bulletin are part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporting from every capital. Stateline journalists aim to illuminate the big challenges and policy trends that cross state borders. The nonprofit States Newsroom network is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. You may subscribe to Stateline here. This story was updated Sept. 19 to add a statement from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson.
