Maine and six other northeast states on Thursday formalized a coalition to promote public health and vaccine access, a coordinated response to upheaval at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration where Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is carrying out his decades-long campaign to limit vaccines.
The Northeast Public Health Collaborative includes public health officials from every northeastern state except Vermont and New Hampshire.
Organizers hope to pool resources and expertise to plan for public health emergencies and responses, while sharing vaccine recommendations, data collection and lab services. The group will also use its combined purchasing power to ensure access to vaccines.
In a statement, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said the Trump administration is politicizing and undermining public health. Last week she issued a standing order allowing Maine health care professionals and pharmacists to administer the latest vaccine for COVID-19.
The order was a response to the FDA — which Kennedy also oversees — imposing new restrictions on the vaccine. The move sparked outcry among public health officials who warned the limits would limit access and endanger public health.
Susan Monarez, who the Trump administration ousted as CDC director after just three weeks on the job, testified before Congress Wednesday that Kennedy also plans to change the childhood vaccine schedule this month. She testified that she was fired because she refused to follow Kennedy's order to pre-approve new vaccine recommendations for the public and fire career scientists.
In June, Kennedy fired the entire 17-member Advisory Panel on Immunization Practices and began handpicking replacements. Several of his picks share his long held skepticism of vaccines and have worked to undermine their efficacy and safety.
Kennedy was nominated by President Donald Trump earlier this year and confirmed by the Republican-led U.S. Senate despite his controversial views on vaccines and concerns he could potentially profit from vaccine litigation while also overseeing the federal agencies that regulate them.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins voted to confirm him, while independent Sen. Angus King voted in opposition.
Collins questioned Monarez on Wednesday during a hearing by the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
"What are the implications for public health if important scientific decisions at the CDC are made by the political staff rather than the career scientists?" she asked Monarez.
"It puts at risk others who need these vaccines and it takes us into a very dangerous place in public health," Monarez responded.
