Latest news with #HICPAC
Int'l Business Times
07-05-2025
- Health
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Shuts Down CDC Infection Control Committee: Report
Members revealed that the termination already took effect late in March The HICPAC's page on the CDC website has also been archived Industry experts expressed disappointment over the committee's 'ghastly' termination The Trump government has shut down an advisory committee under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that provided guidance to healthcare facilities to prevent the spread of infections. The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) issued national standards for hand-washing, mask-wearing and isolating sick patients that most U.S. hospitals follow. Four committee members said the CDC delivered the news about Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee's termination to members on Friday. NBC News reported Tuesday, citing four committee members and the CDC's letter notifying the committee about the news. The HICPAC issued national standards for handwashing, mask-wearing and isolating sick patients that most U.S. hospitals follow. Trump Axes Critical Health Care Committee According to the letter reviewed by the outlet, the termination aligns with President Donald Trump's government downsizing strategy. He signed an executive order that directed federal agencies to trim down their workforces. Committee members said they received the termination letter after a virtual meeting Friday, but in reality, the termination already took effect on March 31. Dr. Anurag Malani, who joined HICPAC in January, said the committee was nearing the completion of new guidelines for airborne pathogens before the team was terminated. The official page of the Committee has since been archived as of late Sunday. "This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being updated," a pop-up states upon clicking the HICPAC link. Experts Blast 'Death' of HICPAC As news of the committee's termination spread, field experts weighed in on the Trump administration's decision to axe a crucial advisory panel. Epidemiology expert and health economist Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, called the move "ghastly." He pointed out how important the HICPAC has been for American public health. "The committee is now dead; long live hospital infections," he wrote Sunday. GHASTLY—Trump administration has shut down CDC's infection control committee HICPAC, which issued guidance about preventing the spread of infections in health care facilities. The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) crafted national standards for… — Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 7, 2025 Days before news broke of the termination notice, MedPage Today reported that "several members" of the committee already received termination letters. At the time, industry experts expressed concern over the move, including Carol McLay, president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. She said dismantling HICPAC would result in "more patients having healthcare-associated infections." Former HICPAC chair Hilary Babcock said the committee's role "is just really crucial" and losing it would have a significant impact on American healthcare. Trump has yet to address concerns around his administration's cuts on healthcare panels and workforces. The Trump administration is faced with a lawsuit from Democratic attorneys general across 19 states and Washington, D.C. over culling of federal health-related divisions. Trump's administration also facing several lawsuits over federal funding cuts, including one from elite Harvard University.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump nixes CDC infectious disease advisory committee: Report
The Trump administration nixed the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), ending three decades of medical advice used by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) according to NBC. A handful of committee members said the CDC delivered the news about HICPAC's termination to members Friday, per the outlet. The termination took effect more than a month previously, on March 31, according to a letter reviewed by NBC. HICPAC has made 540 recommendations for infectious disease control and 90 percent of their suggested measures were fully implemented by the CDC, according to NBC's reporting. The committee provided best practices for preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infections. They shared guidelines on disinfection and sterilization, environmental infection control and hand hygiene in healthcare settings, among other areas of concern. One fellow at the Infectious Diseases Society of America who joined HICPAC in January, said the committee was close to finalizing new guidelines for airborne pathogens before the termination, according to the outlet. Government pages related to HICPAC have now been archived and will no longer be updated with new information. Officials said HICPAC's termination falls in line with President Trump's February executive order entitled, 'Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,' which seeks to slim the federal workforce. However, the agency was not explicitly listed in the order, although five advisory committees were named in the memo, outlining a set timeline for them to be shut down. The CDC did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Hill
07-05-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Trump nixes CDC infectious disease advisory committee: Report
The Trump administration nixed the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), ending three decades of medical advice used by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) according to NBC. A handful of committee members said the CDC delivered the news about HICPAC's termination to members Friday, per the outlet. The termination took effect more than a month previously, on March 31, according to a letter reviewed by NBC. HICPAC has made 540 recommendations for infectious disease control and 90 percent of their suggested measures were fully implemented by the CDC, according to NBC's reporting. The committee provided best practices for preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infections. They shared guidelines on disinfection and sterilization, environmental infection control and hand hygiene in healthcare settings, among other areas of concern. One fellow at the Infectious Diseases Society of America who joined HICPAC in January, said the committee was close to finalizing new guidelines for airborne pathogens before the termination, according to the outlet. Government pages related to HICPAC have now been archived and will no longer be updated with new information. Officials said HICPAC's termination falls in line with President Trump's February executive order entitled, ' Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,' which seeks to slim the federal workforce. However, the agency was not explicitly listed in the order, although five advisory committees were named in the memo, outlining a set timeline for them to be shut down. The CDC did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter.
NBC News
07-05-2025
- Health
- NBC News
Trump administration has shut down CDC's infection control committee
The Trump administration has terminated a federal advisory committee that issued guidance about preventing the spread of infections in health care facilities. The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) crafted national standards for hand-washing, mask-wearing and isolating sick patients that most U.S. hospitals follow. Four committee members said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention delivered the news about HICPAC's termination to members on Friday. A letter reviewed by NBC News — which members said the CDC sent out after a virtual meeting — states that the termination took effect more than a month prior, on March 31. According to the letter, the termination aligns with President Donald Trump's executive order calling for a reduction of the federal workforce. Four professional societies previously wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on March 26 asking him to preserve the committee amid widespread cuts to federal health agencies. The CDC and HHS did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment Tuesday. Several of the committee's web pages have been archived, meaning they are still available to view online but are no longer being updated. Some members now say they fear that its guidelines will be frozen in time, unable to evolve with new scientific research or the spread of drug-resistant organisms, which are a particular threat to hospitals. 'At some point, when things need to change, the guidelines likely won't change, and then people will be sort of flying by the seat of their pants,' said Connie Steed, a HICPAC member since 2023 and former president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Dr. Anurag Malani, a fellow at the Infectious Diseases Society of America who joined HICPAC in January, said the committee was close to finalizing new guidelines for airborne pathogens before the termination. The guidelines, which had not been updated since 2007, included a controversial recommendation that would allow surgical masks in lieu of N95 respirators to prevent the spread of certain pathogens. 'There was really a lot of important material in there, and I think a lot of lessons learned from Covid that helped shape those guidelines to put us in a better place than we were pre-pandemic,' Malani said. Jane Thomason, the lead hygienist at National Nurses United — a professional association for registered nurses that criticized the new mask recommendations — lamented the loss of the committee. HIPAC appointed Thomason to a work group last year. 'While we had significant concerns regarding HICPAC's make up and proposed guidance, the termination of the committee removes important public transparency,' Thomason said in a statement Tuesday. 'Without HICPAC's public meetings, there is no longer any public access to the process for drafting CDC guidance on infection control for health care settings. This further undermines safety for patients, nurses, and other health care workers.' According to the CDC letter from Friday, HICPAC has made 540 recommendations to the agency since its inception more than three decades ago — 90% of which were fully implemented. Malani said it's important for those recommendations to continue so that infection control practices stay consistent across the country. 'You'd want to avoid seeing state and local health departments try to figure this out on their own,' he said.
