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I told yall
New York and several other Northeastern states are forging a regional public health coalition to issue vaccine recommendations and coordinate public health efforts in a rebuke to the Trump administration’s shifts on health policy.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced New York’s involvement in the initiative on Thursday morning.
“By standing with our partners across the Northeast, we are ensuring that New Yorkers have the protection and the information they need to stay safe and healthy,” she said in a statement.
The effort is similar to the West Coast Health Alliance — a bloc of four Democratic-controlled Western states, including California — that issued its own vaccine guidance this week.
Both the Western and Northeastern regional coalitions reflect efforts to shore up public health efforts and give a government stamp of approval to vaccines at a time when federal public health institutions are in retreat.
Places with broader vaccine recommendations than the C.D.C.
Two regional health alliances are issuing wider-ranging Covid-19 vaccine guidance than the federal government, including recommending shots for pregnant women and all children from 6 months to 2 years.
Like the Western initiative, this one, known as the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, is particularly focused on encouraging widespread vaccination as the federal health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wages a broad campaign against vaccines. In recent weeks, the federal government has canceled major contracts for vaccine research and development and imposed restrictions that limit access to updated versions of the coronavirus vaccine.
Ms. Hochul on Thursday said the group of states had jointly decided to issue recommendations for who should receive the most recent coronavirus vaccines: infants and toddlers between 6 and 23 months old and adults older than 19. The recommendations state that healthy children older than 2 years and adolescents may be vaccinated against the coronavirus, and that any children with underlying health conditions should be vaccinated.
“As Washington continues to launch its misguided attacks on science, New York is making it clear that every resident will have access to the Covid vaccine and the health care they rely on,” Ms. Hochul said.
The announcement about the creation of the coalition came on the same day that a federal panel that recommends vaccine policies — the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, widely known as ACIP — was meeting to review immunizations that have long been part of efforts to curtail infectious diseases. Mr. Kennedy has frequently questioned the safety of those vaccines.
Asked about the coalition, a spokesman for the federal Department of Health and Human Services said that states run by Democrats embraced failed public health policies during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and suggested they were in no position to lead on public health.
“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,” the spokesman, Andrew Nixon, said. “ACIP remains the scientific body guiding immunization recommendations in this country, and H.H.S. will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and gold standard science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”
The recommendations by the coalition of states for the updated coronavirus vaccines differ sharply from those issued by the federal government. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the updated coronavirus vaccines only for people 65 and older and for younger people who have underlying medical conditions that make Covid more dangerous. But it did not authorize the vaccines for healthy adults younger than 65. That led a number of state officials, including Ms. Hochul, to issue executive orders intended to circumvent the federal restrictions by authorizing pharmacists to give the latest coronavirus vaccines to most people who want them.
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The Northeast Public Health Collaborative includes New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland and New York City, which has the largest municipal health department in the nation.
State health officials touted the values of neighborliness and self-reliance in explaining the need for the coalition.
“The people of Maine are known for their resilience, neighborly support and a collaborative approach to solving community challenges,” Dr. Puthiery Va, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said. “This spirit is evident in the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, which serves as an incubator for solutions in public health.”
Planning for the collaborative had been underway for some time, and representatives from state health departments met at a hotel in Rhode Island last month to hammer out specifics, officials said. The initiative has already formed working groups on topics including vaccine recommendations, data collection and laboratory capacity.
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In interviews, public health officials said the working groups considered the significant layoffs at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal health agencies in identifying areas for collaboration among local public health officials.
The working assumption is that local public health departments will have to find ways to fill in the gaps, as the federal government provides far fewer dollars and less guidance and assistance to health departments than before, the officials said.
“We must always protect our public health infrastructure, reject misinformation and maintain trust in science,” the acting health commissioner of New York City, Dr. Michelle Morse, said. “The collaborative is working together to rebuild public trust and provide factual information, so people can make informed decisions about their health, and continue our critical work to address health inequities.”
Officials said the effort built on existing cooperative efforts among the states, such as a longstanding network of New England public health laboratories whose directors have been meeting for decades to troubleshoot problems.
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Officials said that the members of the Northeast Public Health Collaborative intended to coordinate public health preparations for the 2026 World Cup and work together on state laboratory services. There have been preliminary discussions about jointly purchasing vaccines, officials said.
During the past year, New York State’s health department has been issuing a weekly report summarizing disease outbreaks across the world. The modest initiative comes as disease surveillance efforts at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in decline.
Joseph Goldstein covers health care in New York for The Times, following years of criminal justice and police reporting.
See more on: Kathy Hochul
I told yall
New York and several other Northeastern states are forging a regional public health coalition to issue vaccine recommendations and coordinate public health efforts in a rebuke to the Trump administration’s shifts on health policy.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced New York’s involvement in the initiative on Thursday morning.
“By standing with our partners across the Northeast, we are ensuring that New Yorkers have the protection and the information they need to stay safe and healthy,” she said in a statement.
The effort is similar to the West Coast Health Alliance — a bloc of four Democratic-controlled Western states, including California — that issued its own vaccine guidance this week.
Both the Western and Northeastern regional coalitions reflect efforts to shore up public health efforts and give a government stamp of approval to vaccines at a time when federal public health institutions are in retreat.
Places with broader vaccine recommendations than the C.D.C.
Two regional health alliances are issuing wider-ranging Covid-19 vaccine guidance than the federal government, including recommending shots for pregnant women and all children from 6 months to 2 years.
Like the Western initiative, this one, known as the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, is particularly focused on encouraging widespread vaccination as the federal health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wages a broad campaign against vaccines. In recent weeks, the federal government has canceled major contracts for vaccine research and development and imposed restrictions that limit access to updated versions of the coronavirus vaccine.
Ms. Hochul on Thursday said the group of states had jointly decided to issue recommendations for who should receive the most recent coronavirus vaccines: infants and toddlers between 6 and 23 months old and adults older than 19. The recommendations state that healthy children older than 2 years and adolescents may be vaccinated against the coronavirus, and that any children with underlying health conditions should be vaccinated.
“As Washington continues to launch its misguided attacks on science, New York is making it clear that every resident will have access to the Covid vaccine and the health care they rely on,” Ms. Hochul said.
The announcement about the creation of the coalition came on the same day that a federal panel that recommends vaccine policies — the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, widely known as ACIP — was meeting to review immunizations that have long been part of efforts to curtail infectious diseases. Mr. Kennedy has frequently questioned the safety of those vaccines.
Asked about the coalition, a spokesman for the federal Department of Health and Human Services said that states run by Democrats embraced failed public health policies during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and suggested they were in no position to lead on public health.
“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,” the spokesman, Andrew Nixon, said. “ACIP remains the scientific body guiding immunization recommendations in this country, and H.H.S. will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and gold standard science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”
The recommendations by the coalition of states for the updated coronavirus vaccines differ sharply from those issued by the federal government. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the updated coronavirus vaccines only for people 65 and older and for younger people who have underlying medical conditions that make Covid more dangerous. But it did not authorize the vaccines for healthy adults younger than 65. That led a number of state officials, including Ms. Hochul, to issue executive orders intended to circumvent the federal restrictions by authorizing pharmacists to give the latest coronavirus vaccines to most people who want them.
Advertisement
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The Northeast Public Health Collaborative includes New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland and New York City, which has the largest municipal health department in the nation.
State health officials touted the values of neighborliness and self-reliance in explaining the need for the coalition.
“The people of Maine are known for their resilience, neighborly support and a collaborative approach to solving community challenges,” Dr. Puthiery Va, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said. “This spirit is evident in the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, which serves as an incubator for solutions in public health.”
Planning for the collaborative had been underway for some time, and representatives from state health departments met at a hotel in Rhode Island last month to hammer out specifics, officials said. The initiative has already formed working groups on topics including vaccine recommendations, data collection and laboratory capacity.
Advertisement
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
In interviews, public health officials said the working groups considered the significant layoffs at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal health agencies in identifying areas for collaboration among local public health officials.
The working assumption is that local public health departments will have to find ways to fill in the gaps, as the federal government provides far fewer dollars and less guidance and assistance to health departments than before, the officials said.
“We must always protect our public health infrastructure, reject misinformation and maintain trust in science,” the acting health commissioner of New York City, Dr. Michelle Morse, said. “The collaborative is working together to rebuild public trust and provide factual information, so people can make informed decisions about their health, and continue our critical work to address health inequities.”
Officials said the effort built on existing cooperative efforts among the states, such as a longstanding network of New England public health laboratories whose directors have been meeting for decades to troubleshoot problems.
Advertisement
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Officials said that the members of the Northeast Public Health Collaborative intended to coordinate public health preparations for the 2026 World Cup and work together on state laboratory services. There have been preliminary discussions about jointly purchasing vaccines, officials said.
During the past year, New York State’s health department has been issuing a weekly report summarizing disease outbreaks across the world. The modest initiative comes as disease surveillance efforts at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in decline.
Joseph Goldstein covers health care in New York for The Times, following years of criminal justice and police reporting.
See more on: Kathy Hochul
