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Maryland has joined a growing coalition of states that are setting their own public health guidelines to counter the Trump administration’s more restrictive vaccine policies, a health department spokesperson said Thursday.
As part of the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, Maryland joins a cohort of states that are developing vaccine recommendations and other public health guidelines amid growing skepticism of federal health rules being set under the Trump administration.
“The Maryland Department of Health continues to explore all options to ensure broad vaccine access,” the spokesperson said in a prepared statement. “Part of this effort includes joining the bipartisan Northeast Public Health Collaborative where Maryland will partner with other states and jurisdictions to help protect the health, safety and well-being of our communities.
“This collaborative will make decisions based on scientific evidence and strive to ensure equitable access to quality health care,” the statement said.
Other states involved in the collaborative include Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. New York City is also a major player.
A handful of Northeastern states have been discussing such a collaboration since the start of the Trump administration and have held informal meetings – but it officially launched Thursday.
The collaborative was created largely in response to more restrictive COVID-19 vaccine recommendations issued by federal health and safety agencies under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has questioned the effectiveness of certain vaccines, including COVID-19.
The launch of the collaborative comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is meeting to create new recommendations that could further limit access to COVID-19 vaccines, among other vaccinations. ACIP is scheduled to vote on the recommendations Friday.
Kennedy recently added board members who have questioned the safety of current vaccine policies. Their decisions this week could affect whether certain vaccinations will be required to be covered by insurance, which would greatly impact access to the shot.
In late August, the FDA approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine for seniors and those with health issues that suppress their immune system – a change from previous vaccine guidance that recommended the shot for everyone older than 6 months. The recommendation sparked concern that access to the COVID-19 vaccine would be cut off for some people who do not fall in those categories.
Top medical societies, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, pushed back on the federal COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. On Aug. 19, the academy recommended that “all young children ages 6-23 months get vaccinated against COVID-19, along with older children in certain risk groups.”
The Northeast Public Health Collaborative has already released its own recommendations on COVID-19 vaccinations that largely align with the AAP’s recommendation as well as with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Ensuring access to vaccinations and other public health needs has been a concern for the Moore administration since President Donald Trump took office for his second term.
Before the state joined the collaborative, Gov. Wes Moore (D) assured Marylanders that access to vaccinations would be protected in the state for the time being. In May, he signed legislation that required insurers to cover vaccinations that had been recommended by ACIP as of December 2024, avoiding any change to coverage based on upcoming ACIP recommendation. That law took effect June 1.
“This protects against the withdrawal of vaccine coverage for a range of illnesses, not just COVID-19,” according to a recent statement from the governor’s office.
