California on Friday announced the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange, or PHOENIX, a state-led initiative intended to modernize public-health technology, data sharing and communications and to coordinate state, regional and global responses to emerging health threats.

Kim Johnson, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, introduced the exchange at a press conference and described it as "a hub for advancing modern tools, best-in-class science, and coordinated responses to emerging health threats." She thanked Governor Newsom and the Legislature for support and named a slate of advisers who will help guide the effort.

PHOENIX, state officials said, will pull together California's private-sector technology, biotech and academic assets to build real-time information exchange, AI-enabled bio-detection and standards-based, cloud-based interoperability. "California is uniquely positioned to lead this moment," said Dr. Susan Menares, who the state identified as a strategic health-technology and funding advisor. Menares said the Exchange will accelerate data modernization and develop technologies to replace fragmented manual processes.

Dr. Deborah Howery, introduced as a senior regional and global public-health medical advisor to the Exchange, urged decisions be grounded in science and explicit data. During the press conference she criticized recent deliberations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), saying that "if you delay the hepatitis B vaccine by two months, you're gonna get 1,400 additional cases of hepatitis and liver disease and up to 400 additional deaths." The advisers said PHOENIX will also focus on improving public-health communication and rebuilding trust with communities; Dr. Caitlin Jetelina, founder of Your Local Epi, said the effort will prioritize listening to lived experience and making scientific advances actionable for people where they live.

Governor Newsom framed the launch as a response to what he described as federal shortfalls at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and said California must "get on the offense" to rebuild trust in public health. In response to a question on resources, Newsom said the state set aside $4,000,000 in last year's budget for the effort and that officials will detail allocations as the initiative moves forward.

Officials said PHOENIX will build on prior regional efforts, including the West Coast Health Alliance, and on the state's recent membership in the World Health Organization Global Outbreak Alert Response Network. State advisers and Newsom said they expect to partner with other states, share staff resources and develop tools that can scale beyond California.

Reporters pressed officials for specifics about staffing, cost-sharing and what PHOENIX will do beyond existing state efforts. Officials gave examples of the kind of technical work they plan to prioritize — for instance, speeding the reporting and response when a measles case is identified so local health departments can quickly find exposed people and intervene — and said the Exchange will emphasize two-way data exchange between healthcare providers and public health.

The press conference included a short question-and-answer session in which officials said they will provide further budget breakdowns and details offline and encouraged reporters to follow up with the governor's press office. Participants closed by reiterating the Exchange's goals of defending science, improving communications and strengthening public-health capacity at state, regional and global levels.