Latest news with #Boim
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Hundreds of CDC workers are reinstated but majority of fired public health staffers left in limbo
Supporters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrate outside the center's entrance in Atlanta during a rally in April. These rallies have happened weekly since the mass layoffs first started at the CDC in February. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder Fired workers of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and their supporters are pushing for more public health jobs to be restored after a portion of the center's terminated workforce was reinstated this week. Many of the more than 460 workers reinstated are assigned to the National Center for Environmental Health or the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention, according to the Associated Press. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to slash 10,000 jobs in late March, including 2,400 jobs at the CDC. The reinstated workers received a two-paragraph memorandum Wednesday from Tom Nagy, chief human capital officer with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that said they were no longer part of the previously announced reduction in force, according to a copy of the memo obtained by the Georgia Recorder. 'You will not be affected by the upcoming RIF,' the memo says. Emily G. Hilliard, press secretary for the federal agency, did not respond to specific questions about the number of jobs reinstated or which CDC programs were targeted. 'Under Secretary Kennedy's leadership, the nation's critical public health functions remain intact and effective,' Hilliard said in a statement Thursday. 'The Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services—whether it's supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases.' Sarah Boim, a former communication specialist at the CDC who is a leader of the group Fired But Fighting, said some of the reinstated staffers were already back at work Thursday. Boim said the restored jobs are not enough, but she said she is skeptical that more people will be brought back since the newly reinstated group represents about 20% of the job losses at the CDC – which would mirror what Kennedy said earlier would need to be reversed because of 'mistakes' made by the Department of Government Efficiency. Lawsuits challenging the terminations at the CDC and other federal agencies are also working their way through the courts. Boim said the saga has left laboratory scientists and others sidelined from their work while collecting administrative pay. 'It's mind boggling — the level of inefficiency and chaos that this whole process has sown,' she said. 'I would like people to know that their money was going to pay for people with critical jobs to not do their jobs.' Georgia Democrats who have pressed for the Trump administration to reverse course on the CDC cuts cheered the news Thursday but pressed for more fired CDC workers to be brought back. 'The rehiring of hundreds of dedicated health workers, many of whom call Georgia home, is welcome news for those of us who believe that public health is vital to our wellbeing and safety — not a political game,' U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock said in a statement. Warnock participated in a rally outside the CDC in April. Those rallies have been held every week since the mass layoffs started in February, with one held Tuesday despite the rain after Kennedy fired members of a key vaccine panel. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Hundreds of laid-off CDC employees can return to work. But some won't be back
Hundreds of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees are being allowed to return to work as of Wednesday. A fired CDC employee says she's happy for them, but she feels confused by the whole situation. 'It was always my dream to serve the public,' said Sarah Boim. She told Channel 2's Bryan Mims she worked as a health communications specialist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for one year before she went on paid administrative leave in February. The government terminated her in May. Boim helped found Fired But Fighting, an organization working to have all CDC employees rehired and to remove Robert F. Kennedy as Health and Human Services secretary. She said she's grateful hundreds of laid-off employees can go back to their jobs at the CDC. 'I'm so happy for them, but I'm also a little confused because the government decided these people were doing critical work,' Boim said. She said these 460-plus employees couldn't do their critical work for more than 70 days. The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services confirmed that notices went out Wednesday to these 460 or so workers, saying they could return to the CDC. In April, about 2,400 CDC employees were laid off, about 18% of the CDC's staff. RELATED STORIES: Hundreds of laid-off CDC employees are being reinstated Protesters rally outside CDC offices in DeKalb County after advisory committee fired CDC official who oversaw COVID-19 vaccine recommendations has resigned following HHS rollback The Department of Health and Human Services confirms these rehired employees are part of four divisions. They include the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention. Employees reinstated also include lab scientists who track lead poisoning. 'For every public health position that's lost, lives are at risk. So, multiply that by 2,000 just here at CDC. And you can see that we're really in a dire situation,' Boim said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Andrew Nixon, Health and Human Services spokesperson, responded with a written statement, saying the nation's critical health functions remain intact. 'HHS is streamlining operations without compromising mission-critical work. Enhancing the health and well-being of all Americans remains our top priority,' the statement said.
