Pennsylvania Joins New Northeast Public Health Collaborative

Coalition includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and New York City 

September 18, 2025

Pennsylvania has joined several northeastern states and New York City to create a new public health collaborative, officials announced today.

The Northeast Public Health Collaborative is a voluntary regional coalition of public health agencies and leaders “brought together to share expertise, improve coordination, enhance capacity, strengthen regional readiness, and promote and protect evidence-based public health,” officials said.   

“Protecting public health has always been a collaborative effort and that joint work has never been more important. Continuing to work with public health experts in other states allows us to exchange best practices, pursue improvements and efficiencies, and explore opportunities to better meet the needs of Pennsylvanians,” said Dr. Debra Bogen, Pennsylvania Department of Health secretary.

Here's what you need to know:

• Essential focus:  The group will identify opportunities for collaboration including public health emergency preparedness, vaccine recommendations, data collection, infectious disease management, and laboratory services.
• Key aim:  The coalition seeks to ensure trust in public health, respond to public health threats, advance community health, and strengthen confidence in vaccines and science-based medicine.
• First items:  The group, which convened for the first time in August, collaborated on science-based guidance outlining precautions health care workers should take during respiratory virus season.
• Happening today:  The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel also is meeting today and tomorrow and is expected to have conversations about a host of vaccine recommendations.
  • In a letter yesterday, the Shapiro administration called on the panel to support vaccines, noting that “immunizations not only protect individuals but also strengthen community health by reducing the spread of disease, lowering health care costs, and safeguarding vulnerable populations.”
• Quotable:  “We respect the role public health professionals play in keeping our commonwealth safe and will continue to back science in our efforts to ensure Pennsylvanians can make the best health care decisions for themselves and their families,” Bogen said.   

Additional information about the new northeast collaborative is available online.