Quote:Several Democratic governors are forming their own health alliance separate from the federal government, due mainly to policy disagreements with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, “Governors across 15 states including New York, California, and North Carolina, are forming a new public-health alliance to detect and respond to disease threats, saying federal-funding cuts and policy changes by the Trump administration are putting their citizens at risk and forcing them to find alternatives.”

“In light of the assaults on science and medicine coming out of Washington, governors have to step up and lead,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “We really have no choice.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom added in a Wednesday news release, “California is proud to help launch this new alliance because the American people deserve a public health system that puts science before politics. As extremists try to weaponize the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and spread misinformation, we’re stepping up to coordinate across states, protect communities, and ensure decisions are driven by data, facts, and the health of the American people.”

The other governors participating in the Governors Public Health Alliance include: Bob Ferguson of Washington, Josh Green of Hawaii, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Tina Kotek of Oregon, Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Dan McKee or Rhode Island, Matt Meyer of Delaware, Wes Moore of Maryland, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Jared Polis of Colorado, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Josh Stein of North Carolina.

It is worth noting that some of the participants — such as Hochul, Newsom, Pritzker, and Murphy — were known for having some of the most draconian lockdowns during the COVID pandemic.

An HHS spokesman told The Wall Street Journal regarding the new alliance, “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.”

The spokesman added regarding the cuts made at the CDC, “HHS continues to close wasteful and duplicative entities to streamline the agency for the American people.”

Regarding his decision to fire CDC director Dr. Susan Morarez and others at the agency over the summer, Kennedy testified last month, “We are the sickest country in the world. That’s why we have to fire people at the CDC.”

“They did not do their job,” he added. “This was their job — to keep us healthy — and I need to fire some of those people to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

An Axios/Ipsos American Health Index survey released in July found a majority back the core of Kennedy’s MAHA food safety efforts.

Fifty-six percent said “chemicals or unsafe additives in foods are a large or moderate risk to their health right now.”

Further, 67 percent say “they agree that they do not think foods that contain pesticides or artificial food dyes in them are safe to eat, even if they are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”

On the subject of childhood vaccination — which Kennedy wants to leave more to parents’ discretion — 77 percent of poll respondents said they believe parents should follow the CDC’s recommended immunization schedules for getting their children vaccinated.

“However, fewer Americans strongly agree with this sentiment (40%) compared to the previous wave of the Axios/Ipsos American Health Index (51%), fielded February 28-March 3, 2025. This softening has taken place across the political aisle,” Ipsos noted.

CNN data analyst Harry Enten highlighted last month that there has been a 30 percentage-point drop since 1991 in support for governments mandating a vaccination schedule for children.

In 2019, support had already fallen to 62 percent.

“Now, a bare majority say the government should, in fact, require kids to be vaccinated against infectious diseases,” Enten said. “The American public has become increasingly skeptical of the idea that the government should require kids to be vaccinated.”

He further noted at the time that Kennedy is the most popular cabinet member in the Trump administration.

“RFK Jr. is not a drag on President [Donald] Trump. He’s not the most embattled. In fact, he is the most popular official in Trump’s cabinet,” Enten said.

Democratic governors may not like Kennedy or his policies, but many Americans agree that it was time for a shakeup within the federal government’s health agencies.

Link


‘Unprepared!’: MLG scolds her own party in angry vaccine signing message

Quote:Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed into law one of the most controversial measures from last week’s special legislative session — a bill giving the New Mexico Department of Health unilateral authority over the state’s vaccination requirements for schoolchildren.

The measure, Senate Bill 3, was the final bill awaiting the governor’s signature from the special session she supposedly called to address federal budget cuts to pork, although none of the supposed funding lost under President Donald Trump’s administration was addressed.

Unlike the other four bills she signed last week, the governor held off on signing this one, ultimately approving it on Wednesday with a scathing message attacking both Republicans and members of her own party.

Because SB 3 failed to achieve a two-thirds majority vote in the House, it will not take effect until December 31, rather than immediately as Democrats had intended. The bill allows the Department of Health to determine which vaccines are required for children independently of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — effectively centralizing vaccine authority in Santa Fe.

The measure was pitched as a response to what the governor’s administration described as “confusion” surrounding shifting CDC guidance on the latest COVID-19 boosters earlier this fall. But opponents warned it would strip away federal guardrails, politicize vaccine policy, and expand government power over parental and medical decisions.

In her signing message, Lujan Grisham lashed out at House Republicans for unanimously opposing the bill, accusing them of “placing the lives of thousands of New Mexicans at risk as we head into peak season for respiratory illnesses such as RSV, the flu, and COVID-19.” She also took the unusual step of publicly rebuking her own Democratic allies for not “defending the urgent need” for the legislation during floor debate.

“I am disappointed with the lack of procedural advocacy by my own party,” she wrote. “They appeared unprepared to defend the urgent need for SB 3.”

Critics say the governor’s rhetoric ignores deeper concerns about government overreach and parental rights. Republican lawmakers argued during the session that SB 3 was unnecessary and dangerous, particularly as trust in public health institutions continues to erode following years of pandemic mandates. They said the governor is attempting to consolidate health power under the state after years of mismanagement and inconsistent COVID-19 policies that devastated schools, families, and small businesses.

Activists across the state immediately reacted to the signing. Sarah Smith, a vocal critic of the measure, posted online shortly after the announcement:

“???BREAKING — AS EXPECTED, GOVERNOR LUJAN GRISHAM HAS SIGNED THE NEW VACCINE BILL INTO LAW. This means that vaccines are now mandated for babies and little kids who are in daycare or early childhood programs,” she wrote, warning that religious and medical exemptions “are still allowed, for now.”

Smith added that the law aligns New Mexico’s policy with the American Academy of Pediatrics, a group that has backed removing religious exemptions and expanding COVID-19 mandates for children. “We must stay vigilant,” she urged supporters, linking to an informational page on how to file exemptions and urging New Mexicans to organize for the 2025 session, when more vaccine-related proposals could surface.

Republicans say SB 3 represents another step in the governor’s long pattern of pushing top-down mandates without public input. After years of shuttered schools, forced masking, and business restrictions, they argue, New Mexico parents have had enough.

Funny that all the people feeling this need to form their own org are Dems.

And the Democrats rank and file are probably more in line with RFK Jr.s thinking on everything but vaccines.