"At 5 a.m. California time, when it is still dark outside, a member of the state's Department of Public Health gets on a weekly call. The topic? Health emergencies all over the world. For years, the U.S. federal government participated in these calls, which are organized by the World Health Organization. Now as the Trump Administration says it has withdrawn from WHO over its handling of COVID, among other things California is stepping in."
"Illinois, in a press release, said it's "making preparations" to join. "The Trump administration's withdrawal from WHO is a reckless decision that will hurt all Californians and Americans," said California Governor Gavin Newsom in a statement. "California will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring." This move by states to take things into their own hands is part of a broader trend, according to Dr. Gavin Yamey, a professor of global health and public policy at Duke University."
California joined the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN) to maintain a direct role in international outbreak response after the federal government announced withdrawal from WHO. A California public health official now joins early-morning weekly WHO calls on global health emergencies. Dr. Erica Pan has contacted other states considering similar participation, and Illinois announced preparations to join. Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the federal withdrawal as reckless and warned of resulting chaos. Experts observe a broader trend of states taking actions to preserve ties to international outbreak response mechanisms that accept subnational participants.
Read at www.npr.org
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