Big Q: How is Robert Kennedy Jr. doing as U.S. health and human services secretary? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser  81% = "Bad.  He needs to be ousted."

Big Q: What do you think of Hawaii joining the new West Coast Health Alliance? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser – 72% “Good; very necessary for public health”

Western states launch vaccine alliance amid CDC shake-up

by Spencer Pauley, The Center Square, Sept 4, 2025

(The Center Square) – The states of California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii are launching the West Coast Health Alliance to provide immunization recommendations to their residents amid concerns of federal politicization of science.

The partnership will launch health guidelines informed by “trusted scientists, clinicians, and other public health leaders,” according to a press release.

In a joint statement, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek claim Trump’s mass firings within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and “blatant politicization of the agency” are direct assaults on Americans’ health and safety.

“The CDC has become a political tool that increasingly peddles ideology instead of science, ideology that will lead to severe health consequences,” the three governors wrote in a statement. “California, Oregon and Washington will not allow the people of our states to be put at risk.”

Hawaii joined the alliance roughly 24 hours after the launch on Wednesday.

The announcement comes as a result of multiple actions taken by the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services since Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was appointed by President Donald Trump this year.

Most recently, the White House appointed Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill as interim director at the CDC. O’Neil – who is not a physician – replaces former CDC Director Susan Monarez. Her lawyers claim she had been fired for refusing “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.”

The three West Coast states previously condemned Kennedy and the Department of Health and Human Services in June when Kennedy removed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. 

The Department of Health and Human Services remains steadfast that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is the scientific body guiding immunization recommendations in the U.S.

“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,” said Health and Human Services Press Secretary Emily Hilliard in an email to The Center Square. “[Health and Human Services] will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”

State Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, chair of the Washington State Republican Party, noted the alliance announcement does not challenge the CDC’s numbers or state that the CDC is wrong.

Walsh added that Washington, Oregon and California previously created a pact in April 2020 that closely coordinated the rollout of COVID-19 policies.

“That ‘Pact’ proved to be ineffectual – more press release than action. Five years later, Ferguson seems to be simply following [former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s] ineffectual footsteps,” Walsh told The Center Square. “I suspect this latest ‘Alliance’ will be the same. It's not a serious law or policy. It's just an excuse to snipe at Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr.”

The West Coast Health Alliance states are expected to finalize shared principles to strengthen public confidence in vaccines and in public health.

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Hawaii to join West Coast Health Alliance with California, Oregon, and Washington

What you need to know: The state of Hawaii is joining California, Oregon, and Washington in the West Coast Health Alliance, which is providing unified recommendations on immunizations to residents based on science, not politics. 

News Release from Office of California Governor, Sept 4, 2025

SACRAMENTO – Roughly 24 hours after the launch of the West Coast Health Alliance, Hawaii is joining California, Oregon, and Washington in a shared commitment to safeguard public health. Together, these states will provide evidence-based immunization guidance rooted in safety, efficacy, and transparency — ensuring residents receive credible information free from political interference.

“We are proud to announce the state of Hawaii is joining the West Coast Health Alliance to uphold the scientific integrity of public health recommendations. We look forward to collaborating as allied states on the best practices for our constituents. Together, we’re taking a stand to ensure the safety of our residents is protected and guided by evidence-based findings and not political whims.” 

Joint statement from Governors Newsom, Kotek, and Ferguson

“Hawaii is proud to stand with our West Coast partners to ensure public health decisions are grounded in science, not politics,” said Governor Josh Green, M.D. “As an island state, we understand how critical it is to protect our communities from preventable disease. By joining the West Coast Health Alliance, we’re giving Hawaii’s people the same consistent, evidence-based guidance they can trust to keep their families and neighbors safe. Using science as our guiding star, Hawaii had the highest vaccination rate and lowest mortality rate of virtually any other state or region across the globe,” said Green, an emergency room physician who became Governor in 2022. “This approach is critical as we all go forward into an era with severe threats from infectious diseases.”

Details about this new Alliance

The Alliance states share a commitment to ensuring that public health recommendations are guided by safety, efficacy, transparency, access, and trust. The Alliance will help safeguard scientific expertise by ensuring that public health policies in California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii are informed by trusted scientists, clinicians, and other public health leaders. Through this partnership, the four states will start coordinating 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.

In the coming weeks, the Alliance will finalize shared principles to strengthen public confidence in vaccines and in public health. While each state will independently pursue strategies shaped by their unique laws, geographies, histories, and peoples, these shared principles will form the foundations of the Alliance. Importantly, the four states affirm and respect Tribal sovereignty, recognizing that Tribes maintain their sovereign authority over vaccine services.

CDC’s dismantling

Since its founding, the CDC has been central to protecting Americans from disease. But recent leadership changes, reduced transparency, and the sidelining of long-trusted advisory bodies have impaired the agency’s capacity to prepare the nation for respiratory virus season and other public health challenges. In a vacuum of clear, evidence-based vaccine guidance, manufacturers lack reliable information to plan production, health care providers struggle to provide consistent plans of care, and families face uncertainty about access and coverage.

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. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to science-driven decision-making. We will continue to provide clear, evidence-based guidance to people living in our states, look to scientific experts in trusted medical professional organizations for recommendations, and work with public health leaders across the country to ensure all Americans are protected. The absence of consistent, science-based federal leadership poses a direct threat to our nation’s health security. To protect the health of our communities, the West Coast Health Alliance will continue to ensure that our public health strategies are based on best available science.

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DK: California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii form West Coast Health Alliance for vaccines guidelines

HNN: Hawaii joins state alliance to coordinate public health guidelines