Ping Huang

It's called the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange.

California Governor Gavin Newsom says it's a direct response to the dismantling of federal public health systems.

Newsom has hired Susan Monarez, the CDC director that Trump fired in August, and Dr. Deb Harry, a former top CDC official, to lead the effort.

It's meant to be a collaboration between states to better detect and respond to emerging health threats and to maintain trust in science-driven public health policy.

It's currently funded for $4 million from California's budget.

Ping Huang, NPR News.

Good morning.

Good morning, Michelle.

What's this meeting about?

So this is the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

This is a panel that's been making recommendations on how vaccines should be used since 1964.

And back in June, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

dismissed all the previous members, and he replaced them with members who have shown that they are not, generally speaking, all that familiar with the details of vaccine policy or how this group shapes it.

At their last meeting in October, the committee's chairman said that they were rookies when they had to redo a vote.

That chairman was replaced just this week, and the new chair is Dr. Kirk Milhone.

He's a pediatric cardiologist and a fellow with the Independent Medical Alliance, who

which is a group that still recommends people use drugs like ivermectin to treat COVID, even though studies have shown it does not work.

So what will be covered in this meeting?

So a few things.

First of all, the group is going to be voting on whether to drop the recommendation that hepatitis B vaccines be given to babies at birth.