Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images, via Penn Capital-Star A pharmacy advertises COVID-19 testing and vaccinations on Sept. 4 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Several states, including New York, are breaking with restrictive eligibility policies the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has imposed on newly approved COVID-19 vaccines for the fall season.

Pennsylvania has joined a coalition of northeastern states in an effort to develop public health and immunization guidelines amid concerns about the direction of federal health agencies.

The group will meet regularly to coordinate on public health efforts such as emergency preparedness and the creation of immunization guidelines.

“Pennsylvania is participating in the bipartisan Northeast Public Health Collaborative (NEPHC) because the Shapiro Administration is committed to keeping Pennsylvanians healthy, preventing injury and disease and ensuring the safe delivery of quality health care throughout the Commonwealth,” Barry Ciccocioppo, communications director for the state Department of Health, said in a statement. “To meet our mission and ensure Pennsylvanians have access to essential public health resources, members of the Department of Health work with colleagues in other states and jurisdictions to share innovations, best practices and improve efficiency.”

Other states involved include Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. All have Democratic governors, except Vermont which is run by Republican Phil Scott.

The move follows a similar action taken by West Coast states, California, Oregon and Washington, who formed their own public health coalition.

Historically, almost all U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, have accepted immunization guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). However, changes at the agency under President Donald Trump and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., including the firing of its director, have shaken the trust of public health experts.

“States have had to step forward basically into the breach and fill the void left by a gutted CDC and the dismantling of public health infrastructure at the federal government level,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey told NPR recently.

Nine former directors of the CDC also raised alarms about the direction of the agency under Kennedy, its defunding of medical research and the trustworthiness of its public health recommendations in a New York Times op-ed.

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania State Board of Pharmacy, which is responsible for determining when and to whom Pennsylvania pharmacists can administer vaccines, also voted to accept immunization recommendations from non-government health organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The move effectively allowed them to bypass guidance from the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, amid concerns that the group has been politicized.

Kennedy, a longtime proponent of antivaccine views and the former chair of an antivaccine advocacy group, removed and replaced all 17 members of the CDC’s immunization advisory panel, appointing a number who have voiced concerns about the safety and efficacy of vaccines in a break from widespread scientific consensus. The panel is scheduled to meet this week and vote on recommendations for this year’s COVID-19 shot and other vaccines.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health, Department of Human Services and Insurance Commission submitted a joint public comment to the panel ahead of their meeting that said, “Immunization remains one of the most powerful and cost-effective tools for preventing serious illnesses, reducing hospitalizations and protecting those most vulnerable to severe outcomes.”

“Consistent and science-driven recommendations from ACIP are therefore essential to preserving both individual autonomy and collective well-being,” the letter added.

Andrew Nixon, the communications director of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, responded to concerns about changes to the department in a statement to the Capital-Star.

“The American people voted for transparency and accountability, and that’s exactly what Secretary Kennedy is delivering,” he wrote. “For decades, CDC failed to level with the public. We are reforming broken institutions, restoring gold standard science as the foundation of public health and empowering Americans with honest information and real choice. That is how we rebuild trust and Make America Healthy Again.”

Nixon also criticized states like Pennsylvania that are seeking to bypass the CDC’s vaccine recommendations.

“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,” he said. “ACIP remains the scientific body guiding immunization recommendations in this country, and HHS will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”

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