Latest news with #LeadPoisoningPreventionProgram
USA Today
14-05-2025
- Health
- USA Today
Live updates: 'RFK kills people with AIDS': Protesters tackled at HHS cuts hearing
Live updates: 'RFK kills people with AIDS': Protesters tackled at HHS cuts hearing The Health and Human Services secretary defended his massive cuts to health care programs and fielded questions on a range of other health issues. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended the president's proposed cuts to top health agencies as some Congressional committee members pummeled him with questions on controversial topics and spending. He testified before the House committee on appropriations the morning of May 14, and is now testifying before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Nearly four months into his new job, Kennedy Jr. answered and dodged heated questions about vaccines, the measles outbreak and a recently approved spending bill. In his remarks before the Appropriations Committee, he said health agencies are handling the U.S. measles outbreak better than other nations have handled theirs and refused to answer whether people should get shots for various vaccine-preventable diseases. Kennedy declined to comment on reorganization efforts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kennedy, known for taking controversial stances on vaccines, recently backed vaccination as a preventive tool during a measles outbreak, but noted that vaccines should be left to parents' discretion. At the House hearing, he declined to answer a lawmaker's question about whether he would vaccinate his own child if it were born today. He recently rolled out plans to remove artificial food dyes from the U.S. food supply, which prompted a series of questions from one lawmaker about beloved snack food from his state, Little Debbie cakes. President Donald Trump's $1.7 trillion 'skinny budget' proposal for fiscal year 2026 reduces non-defense spending by 23% compared with 2025. The budget seeks $94 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services agencies, a reduction of about 26% from the 2025 level and cuts programs and staff at agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the CDC. However, the president's budget aims to pump a $500 million infusion into Kennedy's 'Make America Healthy Again' initiative, which is geared towards ending what he calls the 'chronic disease epidemic.' The program seeks to tackle the issue through nutrition, physical activity, cutting back on medications and improving food and drug quality and safety. Sen. Tammy Baldwin opened her remarks asking what, she said, she hoped was an easy question: 'Do you think lead poisoning in children is a significant concern?' Kennedy replied, 'It's an extremely significant concern.' Baldwin snapped back about the recent cuts to the CDC's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. In a letter sent to Kennedy on April 23, Baldwin said over 2,000 CDC employees, including the entire Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch, were fired. Baldwin highlighted Milwaukee, where community members requested expert assistance from the CDC to help address a growing problem of older elementary school students with lead poisoning, she said. The request for aid was denied due to a lack of staff, Baldwin said. Kennedy countered that the administration didn't intend to halt the work of this branch of government. 'You cannot tell us that you want to make America healthy again when you're willfully destroying programs that keep children safe and healthy from lead poisoning,' she said. – Adrianna Rodriguez Protesters interrupted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a few minutes after he began his testimony before the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. About five people in the audience rose from their seats and began charging towards the health secretary shouting, 'RFK kills people with AIDS.' Capitol police escorted the protestors – who appeared to range from people in their 20s to silver-haired men in suits – out of the room. Some were tackled and fell to the floor. Some of the HHS cuts have included cuts to the United States Agency for International Development, which experts have said impacted global humanitarian organizations that were working on lifesaving programs, including ones that offered HIV health care, worked on landmine removal and provided food aid. – Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean referenced Kennedy's history of heroin addiction and recovery when she asked why HHS is 'shuttering' the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 'In active addiction, you know how difficult it is,' she said. 'This matters in my district. I've buried way too many kids.' Kennedy pushed back against the notion that the administration planned to 'shutter' the agency. Instead, he said, it would be 'shifted' into the newly created Administration for Healthy America. The number of Americans who died from overdoses of drugs like fentanyl and meth dropped nearly 30% last year, falling to a level not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CDC. Experts attribute the decrease to a combination of factors, including the wider availability of the opioid antidote naloxone, along with $50 billion in funding for drug-treatment and youth prevention efforts from the national opioid settlements. 'Why would we – when we're finally seeing some success – bury that success?' Dean asked. – Adrianna Rodriguez Tennessee Republican Chuck Fleischmann pressed Kennedy about a food item that's very important to folks in his state: Little Debbie snacks. He argued that he respects the FDA's process of banning synthetic food colorings over the years, but added that the current colors 'have been deemed safe for many years.' Fleischmann said he represents many snack manufacturers, including M&M's and Little Debbie's. 'You're going to come and visit me in a couple weeks, we can all have some M&M's and Little Debbie's together," he said. "But on a very serious note, we want to make sure that FDA has done due diligence to ensure the safety of these replacement colors." Last month, Kennedy announced that eight artificial dyes will be eliminated from medications and the nation's food supply by the end of 2026. Kennedy in the past has linked food dyes and additives to ADHD and chronic diseases, such as obesity. 'Candidly, I think these guys are safe. They've been approved, but really trying to find substitutes - the costs we've seen estimates five to 10 times to try to fix that. Will you work with me on that?' Fleischmann asked, to which Kennedy replied, 'Absolutely.' – Sudiksha Kochi RFK Jr.'s impact on HHS so far has some worried RFK Jr. reluctance to endorse the measles vaccine amid a deadly outbreak raised red flags. Skirting a question on an issue that has gained him support and stoked opponents, Kennedy told Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Mark Pocan during a hearing before a House committee he thinks Americans should not be taking medical advice from him. The issue? Vaccines. Pocan asked Kennedy, 'If you had a child today, would you vaccinate that child for measles?' 'Probably for measles,' Kennedy said, before backpedaling. 'What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant.' When pressed on whether he would vaccinate his children for chickenpox and Polio, Kennedy once again said he didn't want to be giving advice. Just last month, Kennedy claimed that measles vaccines are 'leaky' because their effectiveness wanes over time – an argument disputed by medical experts. Outbreaks of the highly contagious infection has led to more than 1,000 cases and three deaths in the U.S, including those of two unvaccinated children in Texas. Measles was eliminated in the U.S. by 2000 but has resurfaced with periodic outbreaks, mostly among people who are not vaccinated. In the current outbreak, 96% of measles cases occurred in unvaccinated patients or those whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the CDC. Measles vaccination rates dropped to about 92% in 2023-2024, below the 95% needed to ensure herd immunity. Babies usually get their first dose of MMR vaccine, which also protects against mumps and rubella, at around 12 months. – Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy and Sudiksha Kochi When Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat, asked why the Health and Human Services Department eliminated the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, Kennedy said he was advised by his attorneys not to comment on the reorganization. 'We are under a court order not to do any further planning on the reorganization, and I've been advised by my attorneys not to comment," Kennedy told the Connecticut lawmaker. "But I will just say broadly, many of the programs that the Democrats are now saying were cut (at) the CDC were not cut at all." On May 9, a federal judge said the Trump administration must temporarily halt its sweeping government overhaul because Congress did not authorize it to carry out large-scale staffing cuts and the restructuring of agencies. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco sided with a group of unions, non-profits and local governments, and blocked large-scale mass layoffs known as "reductions in force" for 14 days. Dozens of lawsuits have challenged DOGE's work on various grounds, including violating privacy laws and exceeding its authority, with mixed results. Illston scheduled a hearing for May 22 to consider a longer-lasting preliminary injunction. – Sudiksha Kochi and Reuters Connecticut's Rep. Rosa DeLauro, ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, opened her remarks by blasting President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk for laying off federal employees at the Health and Human Services Department and proposing spending cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The New England Democrat donned a flashy outfit at the hearing. Known for her 'hipster' style and jazzy accessories, DeLauro often stands out from her colleagues with her attire and brightly dyed hair accents. Her clash with Kennedy, once questioning began, came to a heated peak when DeLauro questioned the nation's top health official over a recently approved spending bill that funded the government through Sept. 30. Lawmakers contend the Constitution assigns them the responsibility to decide how much to spend. But Trump and his allies argue Congress sets limits while he can spend less than lawmakers provide. 'You have an obligation to carry out the law and implement what Congress has done,' Delauro said, shaking her head. 'Unbelievable.' – Adrianna Rodriguez and Sudiksha Kochi Mother's Day hike? RFK Jr., grandkids swim in contaminated DC creek despite advice to 'stay out' Top health organizations representing patients with Alzheimer's, cancer, heart and lung disease are warning of the dangers posed by recent and proposed federal budget cuts as Kennedy testifies before a pair of Congressional committees on May 14. Leaders from the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and UsAgainstAlzheimer's outlined the consequences of these cuts and called on Congress to 'take immediate action' to protect funding for biomedical research and disease prevention. In roughly five weeks this year, the U.S. National Institutes of Health terminated $1.81 billion in medical research funding, according to a new analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on May 8. 'The actions taken to date and proposed further actions to cut research funding will undermine public health, weaken our global competitiveness and delay and deny cures and treatment for patients in need,' said Emily Holubowich, national senior vice president of federal advocacy at the American Heart Association. – Adrianna Rodriguez Americans worry about the Trump administration's ability to contain an ongoing outbreak of measles, while the vast majority believe that vaccines for the disease are safe, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. Just 31% of respondents in the two-day poll agreed with a statement that the administration is handling the measles outbreak responsibly, while 40% disagreed and the rest were unsure or did not answer the question. The poll comes as Secretary for Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is testifying before a pair of Congressional committees on a range of controversial topics, including vaccines. The United States is currently facing its largest single outbreak of measles in 25 years, with the number of cases crossing the 1,000 mark as of May 8. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported three deaths, including two unvaccinated children in Texas. 'We're doing a better job at CDC than any nation in the world at controlling the measles outbreak,' Kennedy said before Congress. – Reuters Health officials have reversed cuts made in April to a massive women's health program that has been around for about thirty years. On May 6, researchers at the Women's Health Initiative learned the decision to let the program expire had "been rescinded' and that they could 'move forward with new task orders in September," according to a statement. The WHI has led women's research since the 1990s into conditions such as cancer and heart disease and influenced clinical guidelines throughout the decades. – Adrianna Rodriguez A group from the Alzheimer's Association of America lined up early outside the House Appropriations Committee meeting room. Dean Brenner, a volunteer with the association, said they had come to express their opposition to the HHS cuts, which include many Alzheimer's-related programs and research. 'There are 7 million people over the age of 65 suffering from Alzheimer's,' Brenner said. Many in the group, including Brenner, a Washington, D.C. resident, were wearing purple, the official color of the organization. He said he joined the association after his mother died in 2018 from the neurodegenerative disease. 'We just want to make sure we are top of mind for members of Congress,' he said. – Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy Last month, Kennedy announced he was banning artificial food dyes, phasing out eight petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the nation's food supply. Kennedy has long criticized Big Food and Big Pharma, blaming the nation's 'chronic disease epidemic' on additives and junk food. He's also directed his department to conduct studies aimed at identifying "environmental toxins" behind the rising rates of autism. His critics have hammered him over his views on vaccines. Kennedy has also pushed to curb fluoride use in the water supply, saying the chemical used to protect teeth is making Americans "stupider." He has touted his plan to scale back its use in drinking water.
CNN
01-05-2025
- Health
- CNN
Milwaukee announces additional school closures, new plan to address lead paint hazards as contamination crisis deepens
Milwaukee will temporarily close two more school buildings as the city works to address a lead crisis in its public schools. The district also announced Monday an updated plan to tackle the flaking and chalking paint in aging buildings that's suspected to be the cause of elevated blood lead levels in four students this school year. The new closures affect elementary schools Westside Academy and Brown Street School. Two other elementary schools remain closed: Starms Early Childhood Education Center and LaFollette School. In total, the Milwaukee school district has announced work at nine schools this year to address lead hazards. Students are being relocated while the work is underway. The city's school district and health department are in the process of inspecting about 100 buildings that were built before 1978, the year lead was banned from paint. They expect the work to continue through the summer. Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said the district expected to clean 54 schools built before 1950 ahead of the next school year. An additional 52 schools built between 1950 and 1978 are slated to be cleaned before the end of the calendar year, she said. 'We are asking families to remain vigilant and to please have their children tested for lead exposure,' either through their family doctor or through the pop-up clinics organized by the city, Cassellius said. There is no safe level of lead. At high levels, lead can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and seizures. At lower levels, lead is a neurotoxin that can affect how a child's brain grows and functions. Children exposed to high levels of lead may have learning challenges, as well as problems with attention and behavior. The new lead plan outlines the process the district will follow to assess and remediate its schools. It starts with a visual inspection of each building, and based on that, the building will be classified as low, medium or high risk. Schools at medium and high risk will receive additional testing for lead and could be subject to full or partial closures for abatement. It also says the schools are developing a plan to test adults who might be exposed to lead in schools, such as custodians. The city has been trying to screen more students for lead in their blood. It had been working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a testing strategy when the agency's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program was cut, leaving the city without federal help. The CDC also denied the city's request for EpiAid, a short-term loan of epidemiologists to help guide and staff the response, citing the cuts to the agency's lead program. Denials of EpiAid requests are rare but have happened in the past if the program doesn't think it can meet the requestor's needs, said Dr. Eric Pevzner, chief of the CDC's epidemiology and laboratory branch and its Epidemic Intelligence Service. 'Obviously, in this case, we no longer had the expertise at CDC to support that request,' he said. Last week, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Gwen Moore, both Democrats, sent a letter to US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., urging him to reinstate the CDC's lead experts. 'You have the ability to immediately rectify this issue, and we urge you to do so,' they wrote. The crisis was discovered after a child tested positive for a high level of lead in their blood late last year. An environmental inspection found no significant sources of lead in the child's home or in relatives' homes but did find peeling lead paint in a basement bathroom in the child's school. It also found high levels of lead in the dust around windowsills and floors. The city of Milwaukee, which has a large share of older homes, has a long history of lead problems. In some areas on its north side, health department data shows, about 1 in 5 children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels between 2018 and 2021. The current crisis, however, is the first time lead poisoning in kids has been linked to the city's schools. One of the most cost-effective ways to control lead exposure from old paint is to keep it sealed it under layers of new paint. The school district had fallen behind in its efforts to do that. In a report to the state legislature last year, the district disclosed more than $265 million in deferred maintenance for its schools. On Monday, Dr. Michael Totoraitis, the commissioner of health for the city of Milwaukee, said officials had been notified about three more students in the district who had elevated lead levels. It's still not clear, however, whether environmental conditions at their schools are the cause. 'As everyone understands, when we do receive a referral or a complaint, we have to discern whether it's a poisoning from their home or a secondary address affiliated with that family, or if it's tied to the school, so those investigations can take a lot of time,' Totoraitis said. Dr. Richard Besser joins The Lead He said the health department has considered two types of exposure to kids: acute exposures, in which kids would ingest chips of flaking paint, and chronic exposures, in which kids would ingest or inhale lead in dust over time. Totoraitis said acute exposures typically show up within two to four weeks of the ingestion. Chronic exposures might take longer to become evident. Because the maintenance lapses that led to the program didn't happen overnight, he said, it's unclear how long kids have been exposed to lead in their schools. 'It might be kind of scary, but we have a really good track record of seeing those levels come down if they do test high,' he said. Typically, babies are tested for lead through finger-prick blood tests in the doctor's office at 1 or 2 years of age. That same kind of screening doesn't usually extend to school-age kids, however. Totoraitis said the city was considering revising its screening recommendations to include older children. Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee Department of Health have hosted some school-based clinics to make lead testing more convenient for families. The next lead screening clinic is scheduled for May 7. The health department had hoped to do more of these with the CDC's help but says it will continue to do as much as it can with the resources it has.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Milwaukee announces additional school closures and new plan to address lead paint hazards as contamination crisis deepens
Milwaukee announced Monday the temporary closure of two more schools as the city works to address a lead crisis in its public schools. The district is also presenting an updated plan to tackle the flaking and chalking paint in aging buildings that's suspected to be the cause of elevated blood lead levels in four students this year. The new school closures impact elementary schools, Westside Academy, and the Brown Street School. Two other elementary schools also remain closed: Starms Early Childhood Education Center and LaFollette School. In total, the Milwaukee public school district has announced the closure of nine schools so far this year to address lead hazards. The city's school district and health department are in the process of inspecting nearly 100 buildings in the district that were built before 1978, the year lead was banned from paint. They expect the work to continue through the summer. The new lead plan outlines the process the district will follow to assess and remediate its schools. It starts with a visual inspection of each building, and based on that, the building will be classified as low, medium or high risk. Schools at medium and high risk will receive additional testing for lead and could be subject to full or partial closures for abatement. It also says the schools are developing a plan to test adults that might be exposed to lead in schools, such as custodians. The city has also trying to screen more students for lead in their blood. They had been working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a testing strategy when the agency's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program was cut, leaving the city without federal help. The CDC also denied the city's request for EpiAid, a short-term loan of epidemiologists to help guide and staff their response. Denials of EpiAid requests are rare but have happened in the past if the program doesn't think it can meet the requestor's needs, said Dr. Eric Pevzner, chief of the CDC's epidemiology and laboratory branch and its Epidemic Intelligence Service. 'Obviously, in this case, we no longer had the expertise at CDC to support that request,' Pevzner said in an interview. Last week, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Gwen Moore, both Democrats, sent a letter to US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., urging him to reinstate the CDC's lead experts. 'You have the ability to immediately rectify this issue, and we urge you to do so,' they wrote. The crisis was discovered after a child tested positive for a high level of lead in their blood late last year. An environmental inspection found no significant sources of lead in the child's home or in relatives' homes, but did find peeling lead paint in a basement bathroom in the child's school. They also found high levels of lead in the dust around windowsills and floors. The city of Milwaukee, which has a large share of older homes, has a long history of lead problems. In some areas on its north side, health department data show about 1 in 5 children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels between 2018 and 2021. The current crisis, however, is the first time lead poisoning in kids has been linked to the city's schools. One of the most cost-effective ways to control lead exposure from old paint is to keep it sealed it under paint. The school district had fallen behind in its efforts to do that. In a report to the state legislature last year, the district disclosed more than $265 million in deferred maintenance for its schools. So far, three other children in the district have also been found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Typically, babies are tested for lead through finger-prick blood tests in the doctor's office at 1 or 2 years of age. That screening doesn't typically extend to school-age kids. The Milwaukee Public School District and the Milwaukee Department of Health have recommended that kids in the district see their doctor for screening, and they've also hosted some school-based clinics to make the testing more convenient for families. The next lead screening clinic is scheduled for May 7. The health department had hoped to do more of these with the CDC's help but says it will continue to do as much as it can with the resources it has.
CNN
28-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
Milwaukee announces additional school closures and new plan to address lead paint hazards as contamination crisis deepens
Milwaukee announced Monday the temporary closure of two more schools as the city works to address a lead crisis in its public schools. The district is also presenting an updated plan to tackle the flaking and chalking paint in aging buildings that's suspected to be the cause of elevated blood lead levels in four students this year. The new school closures impact elementary schools, Westside Academy, and the Brown Street School. Two other elementary schools also remain closed: Starms Early Childhood Education Center and LaFollette School. In total, the Milwaukee public school district has announced the closure of nine schools so far this year to address lead hazards. The city's school district and health department are in the process of inspecting nearly 100 buildings in the district that were built before 1978, the year lead was banned from paint. They expect the work to continue through the summer. The new lead plan outlines the process the district will follow to assess and remediate its schools. It starts with a visual inspection of each building, and based on that, the building will be classified as low, medium or high risk. Schools at medium and high risk will receive additional testing for lead and could be subject to full or partial closures for abatement. It also says the schools are developing a plan to test adults that might be exposed to lead in schools, such as custodians. The city has also trying to screen more students for lead in their blood. They had been working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a testing strategy when the agency's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program was cut, leaving the city without federal help. The CDC also denied the city's request for EpiAid, a short-term loan of epidemiologists to help guide and staff their response. Denials of EpiAid requests are rare but have happened in the past if the program doesn't think it can meet the requestor's needs, said Dr. Eric Pevzner, chief of the CDC's epidemiology and laboratory branch and its Epidemic Intelligence Service. 'Obviously, in this case, we no longer had the expertise at CDC to support that request,' Pevzner said in an interview. Last week, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Gwen Moore, both Democrats, sent a letter to US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., urging him to reinstate the CDC's lead experts. 'You have the ability to immediately rectify this issue, and we urge you to do so,' they wrote. The crisis was discovered after a child tested positive for a high level of lead in their blood late last year. An environmental inspection found no significant sources of lead in the child's home or in relatives' homes, but did find peeling lead paint in a basement bathroom in the child's school. They also found high levels of lead in the dust around windowsills and floors. The city of Milwaukee, which has a large share of older homes, has a long history of lead problems. In some areas on its north side, health department data show about 1 in 5 children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels between 2018 and 2021. The current crisis, however, is the first time lead poisoning in kids has been linked to the city's schools. One of the most cost-effective ways to control lead exposure from old paint is to keep it sealed it under paint. The school district had fallen behind in its efforts to do that. In a report to the state legislature last year, the district disclosed more than $265 million in deferred maintenance for its schools. So far, three other children in the district have also been found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Typically, babies are tested for lead through finger-prick blood tests in the doctor's office at 1 or 2 years of age. That screening doesn't typically extend to school-age kids. The Milwaukee Public School District and the Milwaukee Department of Health have recommended that kids in the district see their doctor for screening, and they've also hosted some school-based clinics to make the testing more convenient for families. The next lead screening clinic is scheduled for May 7. The health department had hoped to do more of these with the CDC's help but says it will continue to do as much as it can with the resources it has.
CNN
28-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
Milwaukee announces additional school closures and new plan to address lead paint hazards as contamination crisis deepens
Milwaukee announced Monday the temporary closure of two more schools as the city works to address a lead crisis in its public schools. The district is also presenting an updated plan to tackle the flaking and chalking paint in aging buildings that's suspected to be the cause of elevated blood lead levels in four students this year. The new school closures impact elementary schools, Westside Academy, and the Brown Street School. Two other elementary schools also remain closed: Starms Early Childhood Education Center and LaFollette School. In total, the Milwaukee public school district has announced the closure of nine schools so far this year to address lead hazards. The city's school district and health department are in the process of inspecting nearly 100 buildings in the district that were built before 1978, the year lead was banned from paint. They expect the work to continue through the summer. The new lead plan outlines the process the district will follow to assess and remediate its schools. It starts with a visual inspection of each building, and based on that, the building will be classified as low, medium or high risk. Schools at medium and high risk will receive additional testing for lead and could be subject to full or partial closures for abatement. It also says the schools are developing a plan to test adults that might be exposed to lead in schools, such as custodians. The city has also trying to screen more students for lead in their blood. They had been working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a testing strategy when the agency's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program was cut, leaving the city without federal help. The CDC also denied the city's request for EpiAid, a short-term loan of epidemiologists to help guide and staff their response. Denials of EpiAid requests are rare but have happened in the past if the program doesn't think it can meet the requestor's needs, said Dr. Eric Pevzner, chief of the CDC's epidemiology and laboratory branch and its Epidemic Intelligence Service. 'Obviously, in this case, we no longer had the expertise at CDC to support that request,' Pevzner said in an interview. Last week, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Gwen Moore, both Democrats, sent a letter to US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., urging him to reinstate the CDC's lead experts. 'You have the ability to immediately rectify this issue, and we urge you to do so,' they wrote. The crisis was discovered after a child tested positive for a high level of lead in their blood late last year. An environmental inspection found no significant sources of lead in the child's home or in relatives' homes, but did find peeling lead paint in a basement bathroom in the child's school. They also found high levels of lead in the dust around windowsills and floors. The city of Milwaukee, which has a large share of older homes, has a long history of lead problems. In some areas on its north side, health department data show about 1 in 5 children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels between 2018 and 2021. The current crisis, however, is the first time lead poisoning in kids has been linked to the city's schools. One of the most cost-effective ways to control lead exposure from old paint is to keep it sealed it under paint. The school district had fallen behind in its efforts to do that. In a report to the state legislature last year, the district disclosed more than $265 million in deferred maintenance for its schools. So far, three other children in the district have also been found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Typically, babies are tested for lead through finger-prick blood tests in the doctor's office at 1 or 2 years of age. That screening doesn't typically extend to school-age kids. The Milwaukee Public School District and the Milwaukee Department of Health have recommended that kids in the district see their doctor for screening, and they've also hosted some school-based clinics to make the testing more convenient for families. The next lead screening clinic is scheduled for May 7. The health department had hoped to do more of these with the CDC's help but says it will continue to do as much as it can with the resources it has.
