Blue States Are Teaming Up to Counter RFK Jr.’s Policies. Can It Work?

It is not new for governors to consult with each other on public health issues that cross state lines, said Jason Schwartz, associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health. But these alliances are an effort not merely to supplement the CDC on outbreak response in particular, but even to provide a new point of reference that supplants federal guidance.

“This moment probably called for elevating, expanding, increasing those collaborations in ways that [states] could share best practices, could join forces—could be ready, more importantly, to respond more quickly if the weakening of our federal public health apparatus increases in the way that it has,” said Schwartz, who also serves on an advisory committee to the Connecticut State Department of Public Health.

Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, noted that some private organizations also issue their own guidelines, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics. But where these recommendations have been “harmonized with CDC for decades,” said Adalja, “you can no longer do what’s right for the patient in front of you and follow the CDC guidance.” For the average primary care practitioner, this will result in a confusion about which guidelines to follow, he continued.