SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington announced it is joining California and Oregon in a new West Coast health care alliance, stepping away from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for its residents.

The comes in response to recent mass layoffs at the federal health agency. Governor Bob Ferguson, along with the governors of Oregon and California, has criticized the CDC, accusing it of prioritizing ideology over science.

"We are concerned about what's happening at the CDC," said Dennis Worsham, Washington's Secretary of Health. "We want to make sure that we're aligning our recommendations and our practices really based in science."

The new West Coast alliance is likely to issue health care and vaccination guidance that differs from the CDC's recommendations.

"We are really trying

See Full Page