Massachusetts Public Health AllianceMedia Contacts:
Carlene Pavlos, Executive Director, (857) 302-7023 (o), cpavlos@mapublichealth.org
Oami Amarasingham, Deputy Director, 857-930-4191 (o), oamarasingham@mapublichealth.org
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Press Release: 8/28/26 Governor Maura Healey Awards $17.9 Million to Improve Community Health Across Massachusetts
Funding for 31 communities and organizations will expand access to healthy food, housing, behavioral health resources and supports for older adults BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey today announced $17.9 million in grants to 31 community organizations, cities, towns and regional planning commissions to improve…
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In the News: 8/15/26 Westfield Health Bulletin: Vaccine Skepticism has Led to Resurgence in Public Health Threats
Vaccine hesitancy and politics continue. Years of loud skepticism and outright campaigns against vaccination seem to have taken their toll; a decrease in vaccine use has resulted in a resurgence of measles and other public health threats. Yet the government,…
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In the News: 8/726 Public Health Under Assault by Today’s Politics
More than 300 years ago, during Boston’s 1721 smallpox epidemic, Onesimus, an African man enslaved by the Puritan minister Cotton Mather, shared knowledge of a centuries-old African practice known as variolation — a form of inoculation that could protect against…
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In the News: 3/16/26 Federal Judge Blocks Immunization Schedule Changes, Stays ACIP Member Appointments
Following our lawsuit, AAP et. al. v Kennedy et. al., a federal judge issued an important ruling in our lawsuit against Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and the federal administration’s dangerous changes to vaccine policy. Coverage from major outlets include:
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In the News: 3/5/26 Americans Trust Their Doctors More Than Federal Health Agencies—Maybe It’s Time Public Health Policy Reflected That
A new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania finds that Americans make a clear distinction between career scientists and the political leaders running federal health agencies. While roughly two-thirds of respondents express confidence in agency scientists,…
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In the News: 1/28/26 Community health centers face multiple threats to financial stability
Community health centers — which provide vital medical services for the majority of low-income patients in Massachusetts — are facing a range of financial threats due to federal policy changes that will likely force them to scale back operations. Hear…
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In the News: 1/15/26 Massachusetts issues its own vaccine schedule for kids, countering federal recommendations
Governor Maura Healey released new guidance on childhood vaccinations Wednesday, countering Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent overhaul of the schedule. Carlene Pavlos, Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, and Dr. Andrew D. Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, are…
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In the News: 1/12/26 MPHA seeks to block upcoming ACIP meeting and reverse changes to the pediatric immunization schedule.
MPHA, alongside the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and other leading medical organizations, has filed legal action to stop the upcoming February 25–26 ACIP meeting and reverse recent changes to the pediatric immunization schedule. A hearing…
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In the News 1/6/26 Judge refuses HHS motion to dismiss AAP lawsuit
Following MPHA’s announcement that it would join a lawsuit challenging recent vaccine policy changes under HHS and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., which continues to move forward in court after a motion to dismiss was denied, the organization received coverage…
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In the News 1/05/2026: Massachusetts may not be immune from ‘chaos’ after federal vaccine changes
Dramatic changes to the nation’s childhood vaccination schedule shouldn’t directly hinder access to shots in Massachusetts, public health experts said, thanks to the state’s efforts to build an inoculation policy independent from federal recommendations. It is likely, though, that federal health…
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In the News 12/17/2025: Leading Medical and Public Health Groups Request Transparency, Evidence Behind Changing ACIP Recommendations in Court Hearing
A group of medical professional societies, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), today argued in federal court that the changes to vaccine recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and other actions by HHS Secretary Robert…
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In the News 12/4/2025: The feds could dramatically change childhood vaccine policy. But Mass. ‘prebunked’ them.
Since Donald Trump’s election, Massachusetts’ public health director, Dr. Robbie Goldstein, has been preparing for a situation that once seemed unimaginable: a presidential administration limits access to life-saving vaccines for millions of Americans. Goldstein’s worst case scenario is now a possibility, he said….
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In the News 12/1/2025: ‘Get vaccinated’: Why this expert says you need to get the flu jab this year | Bay State Briefing
Carlene Pavlos speaks on the state’s efforts to increase access to vaccinations and to encourage people to get vaccinated, and what it’s like to work in public health when the nation’s top public health official is a vaccine skeptic. Read…
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Interview 10/27/2025: Public Health Excellence Day at the State House. 5 Year Lookback Guidance for the Future
Following MPHA’s Public Health Excellence Day at the State House on October 23rd, Deputy Director Oami Amarasingham was featured on WMBR Local News in an interview with Linda Pinkow, broadcast on October 27, 2025. The conversation highlighted the Public Health…
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News Release 9/10/2025: Broad Coalition Calls on Lawmakers to Protect our Drinking Water and Health from PFAS Contamination
BOSTON – A broad coalition of public health, consumer, municipal, environmental and community organizations along with academics, scientists and firefighters urged lawmakers to protect our drinking water and our health from toxic chemicals at a State House hearing today. Testifying before…
