Hawaii to join West Coast Health Alliance with Washington, California, and Oregon
What you need to know: The state of Hawaii is joining Washington, California, and Oregon in the West Coast Health Alliance, which is providing unified recommendations on immunizations to residents based on science, not politics.
OLYMPIA – Roughly 24 hours after the launch of the West Coast Health Alliance, Hawaii is joining Washington, California, and Oregon 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.” – Governors Ferguson, Newsom, and Kotek
“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 Washington, California, Oregon, 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, Washington, California, and Oregon, 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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