Northeast states form health info sharing pact amid vaccine changes

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – Nearly 57 million people live above the Mason-Dixon line, from Pennsylvania to Maine, and protecting their health requires regional cooperation.

This, according to the officials behind the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, who say the nebulous nature of commuter patterns, tourists and scheduled events likely to draw millions of visitors, means everyone in the nine-state region needs to be on the same page about how to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

 “In public health, we are always stronger together. Pathogens know no borders,” said Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Public Health. “Particularly in the northeast, people cross borders daily for work and school. In a time of significant change in public health, we have benefited from the enhanced collaborations between our jurisdictions.”

The collaborative will share evidence about vaccines and how to maintain access to them, as well as other medicines, in a way that standardizes policies across the region, including Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The pact echoes a growing consensus among northeastern state leaders to sidestep changes to COVID-19 vaccine availability handed down by the Trump Administration. On Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she’d extend an executive order to keep offering the shot at most pharmacies statewide.

Pennsylvania took a similar step earlier this month, giving pharmacies the authority to vaccinate residents who don’t fit the narrowed prerequisites. Previously, anyone 6 months and older qualified without a prescription. Now, only patients 65 and older, or those with specific underlying health conditions, are eligible.

Although the collaborative doesn’t specifically mention the federal changes to vaccine access, health officials repeated a desire to “rebuild public trust” and combat “misinformation.”

“We must always protect our public health infrastructure, reject misinformation, and maintain trust in science,” said Acting New York City Public Health Commissioner Dr. Michell Morse . “The collaborative is working together to rebuild public trust, and provide factual information, so people can make informed decisions about their health, and continue our critical work to address health inequities.”