Maryland has joined a coalition of Northeastern states and cities aimed at protecting vaccine access and advancing other health initiatives, the Department of Health said in a statement.

The state joins Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and New York City to create the Northeast Public Health Collaborative. The group has been in the works for months, according to a press release from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

“This collaborative will make decisions based on scientific evidence and strive to ensure equitable access to quality health care,” a spokesperson from the Maryland Department of Health wrote in an emailed statement.

The alliance plans to work together on public health emergencies, vaccine recommendations and other research efforts, according to the group’s press release. It has already made recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine this fall, but each state and city will remain independent in setting regulations for its residents, the press release said.

The group’s launch comes as Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which works under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to make vaccine recommendations, is meeting on Thursday and Friday to review some current vaccine guidelines, including for COVID, hepatitis B and MMRV vaccines.

On Thursday, the panel voted to change its recommendation on the MMRV vaccine, saying that children before the age of 4 should no longer receive the combined MMRV vaccine and instead received them separately.

Vaccine policy has been at the center of attention at the CDC after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, was confirmed as the head of Health and Human Services.

In June, all expert panelists on the ACIP were fired and replaced with noted vaccine critics. Earlier this month, under Kennedy’s direction, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration restricted eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines.

In response to the political turmoil at the CDC, several states have started to issue their own vaccine and public health policy.

Gov. Wes Moore has said that Marylanders who want an updated COVID vaccine would be able to receive one this fall, pointing to state legislation requiring private insurers and Medicaid to cover those that were federally recommended by the end of last year.

The Democrat-run states of California, Oregon and Washington launched the West Coast Health Alliance to combat the Trump administration’s health policies. The group is similar to the Northeastern collaborative.

On the same day in Republican-run Florida, the Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he would move to end childhood vaccine mandates.

The ACIP meeting will conclude on Friday.