California comes up with alternative to the CDC: "West Coast Health Alliance"

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

In June, the three states issued a joint statement condemning Kennedy's decision to remove all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Among the replacements named by Kennedy are appointees who spread vaccine misinformation and relayed conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Associated Press.

Kennedy said the change would improve public trust by ensuring members of the committee didn't have "any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda."

Kennedy has warned that more turnover could be coming at the agency.

In the announcement for the newly formed West Coast Health Alliance, the states said the focus would be on providing evidence-based recommendations about who should receive immunizations while ensuring the public has access to credible information about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. The alliance will share immunization recommendations, but each state will also pursue independent strategies based on "unique laws, geographies, histories, and peoples."

Dr. Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health and the state health officer, said it's imperative that California stand with medical professionals.

“The dismantling of public health and dismissal of experienced and respected health leaders and advisors, along with the lack of using science, data, and evidence to improve our nation's health are placing lives at risk," Pan said in a statement.

This is the best idea ever!!

Hopefully, this is the beginning of the West Coast secession from TrumpMerica.

Let the MAGATS live in his rotten country.

We on the West Coast will live in our own country.

We don't need the backwards thinking of Red States, and we most certainly DO NOT need Trump.

I'm all for Dem states banding together - hell, I'd be fine if we broke away, but God knows Trump would send in all the troops in a hostile takeover.

C’mon New England! You can do this too!

Of course, the West Coast is ahead of the game. This is the future going forward, regional alliances that essentially say "fuck you" to the (disintegrating) federal government structures (which are by now so outdated that that it seeks to install strict authoritarianism because its underlying power structures are wobbling and out-of-touch with the ongoing evolution of society.) What works for one region of the country is not suited to the rest of the country especially most (red state) areas which are tragically and stubbornly trying to cling to religion as savior or president/federal government as savior. It's not quite a breaking up of the United States, but it's definitely first steps toward that result.

Hawaii should be included in this West Coast Alliance.

It's a solidly blue state that has voted for the Democratic nominee for President every year since 1988.

It also has a Democratic Governor and a majority Democratic State Senate and State House.

I love this idea! New York, what are you waiting for?

This is bad. I know those who live on the west coast are cheerleading this. But this is bad.

Succession is not good. Even if it just starts with cracks.

The northeastern states (Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) are considering doing this as well. New Hampshire, the Alabama of the north, is not going along.

[quote]I'm all for Dem states banding together - hell, I'd be fine if we broke away, but God knows Trump would send in all the troops in a hostile takeover.

Yes, if there's another Civil War, the Republicans will win (again) because they have guns and they know how to use them.

Plus, most people in the armed forces lean right.

R9 I've heard about this and I hope the west coast news gives them a kick in the ass to get moving. I fear that PA is full of knuckle-dragging rubes who will fight it; thank god for Josh Shapiro.

R10 - I disagree. And this is anecdotal from my perspective, but I've also had confirmation that gun ownership for protection is on the rise on the liberal/left side of the population. So many friends, family, and acquaintances across the country, especially liberals who have relocated to red states to purchase property for homesteading and permaculture efforts are getting locked and loaded. While anti-gun declarations are common with the more activist and vocal liberals, I discern definite patterns emerging that indicate that wanting more gun restrictions in place is still strongly desired, however, the corporate interests and politicians have a stranglehold on the sadly outdated 2nd amendment so it's become kind of a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em approach. A lot of liberals/leftists/progressives are also now arming up and receiving training on gun care and target shooting practice. While the RWNJs and MAGAs announce loudly that they're packing, many others on the liberal spectrum are quiet about it. And that's how the element of surprise works. Let the government, military, and MAGATs think all liberals are under-armed and timid about firearms. They'll be wrong.

This will make it easier for the West coast strip to secede.

My boyfriend and I are discussing getting a gun. He doesn’t want one in the house. I see his point, but…

That’s how far we’ve fallen.

T14 - I have a registered firearm now and have gone to target practice and safety workshops. This is very different from who I was many years ago and it's all because I had a boyfriend (liberal) who was adamant that I learn the ropes. Once you research the types of handguns available and choose one that is the least intimidating to own/handle, then you look for local instruction to familiarize yourself with the firearm, the safety measures, and practice with it. In doing this, a lot of the fear element dissipates. If you don't have kids to monitor and don't live with a psychologically maladjusted individual, and you trust yourself, once you're more practiced and knowledgeable, the owing a gun experience becomes a security upgrade. You don't need to acquire a bunker-sized artillery, just one registered handgun and a small collection of bullets. Then you're ready, informed, and able.

Meant for R14

To be fair - the red states have worked together for decades now. This is no different, in my opinion. One red state passes a fucked up law and it is copy-cat passed in other states.

We need unity on our side - God knows the right has that going for them.

Having a gun in your home increases your likelihood of killing friends or family by nearly 20%.

No one is going to invade your home. Instead, you’ll get angry at a friend or think you’re being robbed when it’s just your brother coming in.

We’re being sold fear

[quote] This is bad. I know those who live on the west coast are cheerleading this. But this is bad.

[quote] Succession is not good.

Okay, Boris!

Not that anyone cares what you think.

This IS good for us on the West Coast. Meanwhile, the rest of the knuckle dragging MAGATS in Trump country can live with your "no vaccines" and Ivermectin.

Oh, and I know you're Russian, but at least TRY to spell the word right. It's SECESSION, and not SUCCESSION.

Dasvidaniya!

THIS is why the West Coast states have to form this alliance.

We want no part of Trump's, RFK Jr.'s, or Desantis' insanity:

[quote] Florida moves to end all school vaccine mandates, first in nation to do so

Florida’s surgeon general on Wednesday announced plans to end all state vaccine mandates, including for children to attend schools, which would make it the first state to completely withdraw from a practice credited with boosting vaccination rates and controlling the spread of infectious diseases.

Speaking at a news conference outside Tampa with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo said that every vaccine mandate “is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery” and called the rollback “the right thing to do.” Ladapo’s stances on vaccines and other measures intended to protect Floridians have drawn criticism from public health experts and advocates.

“Who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what you should put in your body?” Ladapo said Wednesday.

DeSantis, who at the news conference endorsed Ladapo’s measures, acknowledged ending certain vaccine requirements would “require changes from the legislature.”

Florida law mandates students must be vaccinated against polio, diphtheria, rubeola, rubella, pertussis, mumps and tetanus, while allowing exemptions for religious and medical reasons. Getting rid of those would require lawmaker approval. The Florida Department of Health could more immediately target four vaccines mandated under its own rules: chicken pox, hepatitis B, Hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and the pneumococcal vaccine PCV 15/20.

The Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the founder of an anti-vaccine organization, have been pushing to upend U.S. vaccine policy. Florida’s move underscores the deepening political fault lines over vaccines, a divide certain to polarize parents, communities, lawmakers and health providers across red and blue states.

At the news conference, DeSantis also announced a Florida version of “Make America Healthy Again,” a reference to Kennedy’s slogan and agenda to address the root causes of chronic disease and childhood illness, such as nutrition.

All states and the District of Columbia have vaccination requirements to attend public schools, while exemptions vary state by state.

“It’s a very troubling development,” Colgrove said. “It’s probably going to be catastrophic. Anyone who knows anything about public health can see this is a train wreck.”

A KFF survey published in January found 83 percent said public schools should require some vaccines for students, allowing for health and religious exemptions. This includes large majorities of Democrats (93 percent), independents (85 percent) and Republicans (75 percent).

Florida Sen. Lori Berman (D), a member of a Senate health committee, said she feared her Republican colleagues would support repealing vaccine mandates. She pointed out that they recently voted to ban fluoride from the state’s drinking water, a cause championed in the past by Kennedy.

“I would hope my colleagues would listen to science, but I’ve seen them do some things in the last couple years that make me question that,” Berman said in an interview. She said the announcement left her in a “state of shock.”

“When everyone in a school is vaccinated, it’s harder for diseases to spread, and easier for everyone to keep the fun and learning going,” American Academy of Pediatrics President Susan Kressly said in a statement. “We are concerned that today’s announcement by Gov. DeSantis will put children in Florida public schools at higher risk for getting sick, and have ripple effects across their community.”

The head of Florida Parent Teacher Association, Jude Bruno, said rollbacks of vaccine mandates could imperil the health of students and staff. “In a state with a high tourism economy, the consequences of opening the floodgates to preventable outbreaks are especially serious,” Bruno said in a statement.

Joseph A. Ladapo, Harvard MD, PhD in health policy, clinical training at Beth Israel, after graduation worked in NYC and LA. When did he go bonkers?

R10 Democrats may have Hollywood and the MSM on their side, but Republicans have the U.S. military and police force, whom the left have demonized for decades.

Guess which ones will be more effective in battle?

Check these out, VOTN @ R14. It might be a great compromise!

I'd buy one myself if I had any loose money lying around.

[quote] Democrats may have Hollywood and the MSM on their side, but Republicans have the U.S. military and police force, whom the left have demonized for decades.

There will be no military battle. I’m sure Republicans will be glad to jettison LA, SF, Portland and Seattle. They won’t give up the land outside the cities though, so the components of the new country will not be contiguous. The U.S. would probably hold on to the ports too.

"With riots and violent looting going on all over the country", r23? These aren't being pushed to people on the left.

If you believe all the military is on the side of the GOP, R22, you would be wrong, darling. That's comforting propaganda, but it's nowhere near the truth. And the "blue states" can not only crush the red states via economic separation, but also the entire federal government. Blue states can also begin to form alliances with other countries for mutual benefit if it comes right down to it. The GOP and Trump's admin are not at all popular abroad. They might be sucked up to for favors and to avoid issues, but that is not a signal of overwhelming loyalty.

[quote] Blue states can also begin to form alliances with other countries for mutual benefit if it comes right down to it.

I was thinking this exact same thing.

The West Coast Alliance should work hard to form independent partnerships with Canada and Mexico. Mexico especially, since that would really piss off Trump.

But the only problem would be trying to get around Trump's idiotic tariffs, since Federal Law is greater than State Law.

If California, Oregon and NY left the US, the economy would contract unbelievably. All that would be left would be grain and oil. In that way the US would become like Russia. All the major tech companies would be gone with the exception of Tesla. But even that would fade as all the real tech talent would leave the US pronto and join whatever the new nation would be.

Supposed a new Silicon Valley was going to happen in Austin or Miami. But that never happened because no smart young person wants to live in a state run by retards.

Supposedly….

[quote]oseph A. Ladapo, Harvard MD, PhD in health policy, clinical training at Beth Israel, after graduation worked in NYC and LA. When did he go bonkers?

When he found out there was money in it.

Not really sure what the alliance is supposed to accomplish. You don't need an alliance for the goals they stated. Adhering to scientific standards is great. But if one state opts to do that - why would they need an ally for that? Sounds like mere grand standing to me.

Now what would make a difference: Give residents from allied states some privilege. How about: Add a health tax to a hotel stay when you come from Florida, but waive the tax when you're from Oregon. Not sure this is constitutional though. Maybe just add the health tax when the tourists don't have documentation about mandated vaccinations.

[quote] Not really sure what the alliance is supposed to accomplish

To put out CORRECT health information, to counter the gross misinformation being put out by RFK Jr. and Trump.

To ensure that all school kids are vaccinated, to prevent them, their families, and their teachers and school staff from getting sick from PREVENTABLE diseases.

Making sure there is an adequate supply of vaccines for citizens and possibly even producing their own vaccines for their own state, since the US Health Department is ending many vaccines.

To TRULY make the citizens of these states healthy, rather than the bullshit MAGA/MAHA propaganda put out by Trump and RFK Jr.

And much, much more.

Let the Red State MAGATS die, for all I care.

It's time the smart, responsible people in Blue States took care of ourselves. We can't worry about Red States. Let them suffer for their ignorance.

R8 Yes, I'm in RI and heard about this on the news this morning. I think there's a conference in the planning stages coming up in October with NE governors and senators gathering in MA to move forward with this. I pray that it happens. Though Trump may send the National Guard in to break up the gathering the weekend it is scheduled.

let the forming of the nation of cascadia begin!

[quote]Yes, if there's another Civil War, the Republicans will win (again) because they have guns and they know how to use them.

This suggests a poor understanding of the Civil War. Southerners had plenty of guns and talked a big game, but talk is all it was - they were soft, because they were farmers in a region where slaves did all the work. They were convinced that Northerners were weak and effete (the same view Republicans now have of Democrats), but they themselves didn't have the fortitude to keep up a fight, which is why they had some initial successes in the war and then a lot of failures. I don't think much has changed.

And don’t forget…even if the origins of Stonewall are more complicated than everyone thinks…it wasn’t the assimilationists that started it.

I think an alliance such as the West Coast Health Alliance is also an important and crucial signal to the pharmaceutical companies which manufacture vaccines, that there will be a lucrative and WEALTHY population ready to buy vaccines. Otherwise, just as happened with insulin production, many will flee the market, or will stop researching new vaccines because they figure the return will be too small to satisfy their investors. Don't forget that RFK has HALTED ALL research on vaccines at the CDC for the moment, which is why the prospect of another pandemic looms large with no ready options to combat one.

r22, you say the MSM leans Democratic.

So why have they given him a pass since 2016 on pretty much everything, such as him pretending to be religious, when he made fun of the disabled man, when he made the "grab them by the pussy" remarks, etc.? That's leaning to the Dems??

Massachusetts essentially wrote a prescription for everyone in the state over the age of 5 to receive a COVID booster.

Love it! Where can New York sign up??

R37 Yes absolutely. Blue States are where most of the wealth of the country lives and works. Economic collapse for the federal government and red states will happen if the Blue States form alliances with other states and countries. A huge fuck you to the MAGAs, RWNJs and Conservatives.

Democrats have their issues, obviously. But at the end of the day, for all of my adult life, they have been the party of the adults in the room.

[quote] Economic collapse for the federal government and red states will happen if the Blue States form alliances with other states and countries.

It’s like the South believing the North would collapse without their cotton.

[quote] Blue States are where most of the wealth of the country lives and works.

It will never be whole states. The Eastern parts of California, Oregon, and Washington will not leave the Union. Like West Virginia during the Civil War, there will be new East states formed out of all three.

[quote] The Eastern parts of California, Oregon, and Washington will not leave the Union. Like West Virginia during the Civil War, there will be new East states formed out of all three.

And good riddance to them!

Anyone who actually wants to live in Trump's America, DESERVES to live in Trump's America.

Just don't come running back to us, when you finally get sick of him. And you WILL get sick of him.

R43 - history doesn't always repeat itself in the exact same way. The economic gap between blue states and red states is significantly larger and there is significantly more wealth, and other issues, involved then were the norm back during the Confederacy. Catch up, bebe.

YES R45. Fuck the Trumptards, sideways, without lube and without pleasure.