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California and four other Western states announced new recommendations today guiding who should be vaccinated for COVID-19, saying they sought to counter a “vacuum left by the Trump Administration’s chaos and politicization of science.”
The new recommendations, issued by the West Coast Health Alliance, encourage all residents, except those under six months, to receive the COVID vaccine, especially toddlers up to 23 months old; adults over 65; anyone who’s pregnant or trying to get pregnant; and anyone else who has a risk factor, such as asthma or diabetes.
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The recommendations, announced by Governor Gavin Newsom along with governors Tina Kotek of Oregon, Bob Ferguson of Washington, and Josh Green of Hawaii, follow those of major medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. They were issued a day before a panel of CDC advisers were due to begin meeting to review recommendations for vaccines, including COVID.
The California Department of Public Health announced that insurance providers regulated by the state will be required to cover all of its recommended vaccines, which can be obtained from local pharmacies and health providers, or for free through authorized providers. Residents can schedule an appointment at myturn.ca.gov.
This week, Newsom also signed into law Assembly Bill 144, which requires the state’s vaccine recommendations to be anchored in evidence-based scientific recommendations from trusted national medical organizations.
The West Coast Health Alliance formed earlier this month in an effort to combat what state health officials described as the “weaponization” of federal health agencies to advance antivaccine policies, despite decades of scientific research showing that vaccines are safe and effective.
“Our states are united in putting science, safety, and transparency first — and in protecting families with clear, credible vaccine guidance,” the governors said in a joint statement. “The West Coast Health Alliance stands united in protecting public health and always putting safety before politics.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s health secretary, was a prominent antivaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official. He fired the entire CDC vaccine panel earlier this year and replaced it with a group that includes several prominent vaccine critics.
Susan Monarez, who headed up the CDC under Trump for 29 days, testified before Congress today that Kennedy fired her when she refused his demand that she sign off on changes to the childhood vaccination schedule that lacked any scientific basis.
“Even under pressure,” she said, “I could not replace evidence with ideology.”
“We want the people who live and work in our states to know that there is a strong public health, healthcare, and a scientific community that will continue to stand together to provide and use the data and evidence needed for you to make healthy choices,” said Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health, “and we are here to protect our communities.”
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon criticized the effort in a written statement.
“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,” Nixon said. “HHS will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”
_Gene Johnson of the Associated Press contributed to this report._
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