California Joins WHO Outbreak Network as U.S. Exits

California has become the first U.S. state to join the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN) just as the Trump administration withdraws the federal government from WHO and stops participating in WHO‑led emergency calls. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state health director Dr. Erica Pan say California is now on weekly 5 a.m. WHO briefings, gaining access to outbreak intelligence and the Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources platform so the state can spot and prepare for emerging threats without federal mediation. Illinois has announced it is "making preparations" to follow California into GOARN, while the U.S. State Department tells NPR that "the United States will not be participating in regular WHO‑led or managed events" and is instead cutting its own bilateral health deals. Global‑health experts like Duke’s Dr. Gavin Yamey call the state‑level move a "smart and savvy" response to Washington’s retreat, arguing it plugs some of the gap left as federal guidance erodes, including the absence of a national flu‑vaccination campaign this season. The shift marks an unusual turn in U.S. public‑health governance, with individual states now seeking direct links to a UN agency to protect their residents as the federal government steps back from multilateral outbreak coordination.