Latest news with #RichardBesser
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
RFK Jr.'s vaccine comments and inside his controversial week
It's been a busy week for the "Make America Healthy Again" leader - from updating the COVID vaccine guidelines, to threatening to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals. Kennedy's COVID vaccine rollbacks and comments on scientific research are concerning, and it might be difficult for people to absorb all the medical news and recommendations they're hearing about, says Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC. Similar to how Kennedy wooed supporters with his commitment to cracking down on ultraprocessed foods and artificial food dyes, his comments against scientific journals contain a nugget of truth - companies can fund research, and people need to be able to trust the scientific studies used to inform health decisions. "It's a tricky situation when you have someone who is sharing valuable information about the impact of ultraprocessed food and the influence that the large companies can have on policy, and how we have to change that, while at the same time he is spreading falsehoods about the value of vaccination on people's health," Besser says. RFK Jr., vaccine recommendations and what changed On May 15, Kennedy told people not to take "medical advice" from him after being asked about the measles vaccine by Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Mark Pocan. "What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant," he said. But on May 27, Kennedy announced in a video clip shared to X that the COVID-19 vaccine would no longer be included in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, in a move that breaks with previous expert guidance. Traditionally, the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices would meet and vote on changes to the immunization schedule or recommendations on who should get vaccines before the director of the CDC makes a final call. The committee has not voted on the changes Kennedy announced, and a CDC representative was not included in Kennedy's video. Kennedy also spoke on the "Ultimate Human" podcast, calling the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet, three of the most influential medical journals in the world, "corrupt." "Unless those journals change dramatically, we are going to stop NIH scientists from publishing in them and we're going to create our own journals in-house," he said, referring to the National Institutes of Health, an HHS agency and the world's largest funder of health research. He added that these journals publish studies funded and approved by pharmaceutical companies. And there is some merit to Kennedy's statements - major food and drug companies have funded scientific research. According to a 2015 article published in The Lancet, Coca-Cola disclosed spending $118.6 million over five years on scientific research and health and wellbeing partnerships; several influential medical organizations, including the American Cancer Society, received funding from the company. RFK Jr.'s changes raise 'grave concerns' from scientific community Kennedy's move to change COVID vaccine guidelines contradicts his previous claims that he wouldn't "take away anybody's vaccines." However, the changes to the guidelines may affect what is covered by insurance and who has access to the shot if they still wish to receive it. Federal vaccine recommendations affect what private insurances will cover, and Medicaid only covers the full cost of recommended vaccines. Besser says Kennedy's updated guidelines "raise grave concerns about the stability of our vaccine recommendations." "There was no opportunity for people to explore the data that may be behind this decision or to ask questions," he explains, "which makes me feel that there could be other decisions coming with the same lack of transparency." To lead their healthiest possible life, Besser recommends that people, especially parents, consult their trusted health provider to "sort through the massive amounts of information being thrown at them." Contributing: Sudiksha Kochi
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Americans hate their health care system. Here's how Trump may be making it worse.
In a little more than 100 days, the Trump administration has upended the U.S. health care system Americans love to hate, sparking turmoil and Trump administration calls its sweeping changes a "critical course correction" to the way the nation delivers heath care. "This is not just policy ‒ it's a revolution in public health," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an April 29 statement touting the administration's accomplishments. On the administration's list of accomplishments: a new commission to end childhood chronic diseases, a review of infant formula safety, an investigation into the causes of autism and an effort to reduce animal testing. HHS also plans to review whether fluoride is safe to add to drinking water, despite decades of evidence that it supports dental health and poses no substantial risks. But some people on the frontlines of the health care system – doctors and nurses, researchers, advocates and local officials – criticize the rapid-fire overhaul as "reckless" and say it will cost dollars and lives. More than 70% of Americans say the health care system isn't meeting their needs in some way, according to a recent poll. Yet it can still get worse. Millions of people are likely to lose health insurance under policy changes and expected cuts to Medicaid and other programs. Tariffs are expected to push up drug prices. A healthy school lunch program was terminated. Critical research trials have already been canceled midstream. Although states will continue to address childhood lead poisoning, the federal workers they counted on for expertise have all been fired. And Trump's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget calls for a 37% cut to the National Institutes of Health, which includes the National Cancer Institute. Already announced cuts to the country's research infrastructure will trigger roughly $16 billion in economic losses and 68,000 jobs nationwide, according to the Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project (SCIMaP), which has mapped the economic impact of the cuts on every county in America. And Trump is proposing to chop the National Institutes of Health budget by 40% next year. Among its other actions, the administration has suspended testing of milk quality (saying that states can adequately perform this function) as well as cancer research funding, support for LGBTQ youth considering suicide and money to investigate child sexual abuse and internet crimes against children. "These are reckless, thoughtless cuts that will only make American communities less healthy and less safe," Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said in a statement. "They are systematically and cruelly dismantling our nation's public health system and workforce, which threatens the health and wellbeing of everyone in America." Dr. Richard Besser on the podcast: RFK Jr.'s impact on HHS so far has some worried | The Excerpt Trump has criticized President Joe Biden's plan for slowly lowering the price of select, popular medications. On April 15, he announced his own drug price reduction proposal in an executive order. Medical experts say it's not yet clear how Trump's plan will work in practice. "Some of these proposed reforms could assist patients struggling with high drug prices; others would face significant legal and practical obstacles; and still others might even increase drug prices,' Rachel Sachs, a former senior advisor at the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in a recent article in Health Affairs. While Trump's initial round of tariffs left pharmaceuticals exempt, many of the raw materials that go into drug-making are expected to increase in price, making it harder and more expensive to get these ingredients. "There are clearly going to be tariffs that impact pharmaceutical supply chains," Tom Kraus, of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which represents hospital pharmacists, previously told USA TODAY. Generic drugs − which account for the vast majority of prescriptions − have small profit margins and are more likely to feel the financial squeeze from tariffs, he said. A number of major drug companies have forecast hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs from the tariffs, which could end up being passed on to consumers. In a win for the administration, which aims to bring manufacturing back to the United States, drugmaker Roche announced on April 21 that it would invest $50 billion in building new manufacturing capacity, creating 12,000 jobs across five states. Across the country local officials and low-income Americans are preparing for dramatic cuts to Medicaid, which serves 78 million low-income and disabled Americans and is funded with a combination of federal and state dollars. Any cuts will have a ripple effect across the country, public health experts and health care advocates said, and even conservative activists like Laura Loomer have advised against chopping Medicaid because of the expected political fallout from Trump supporters. Trump has repeatedly promised he wouldn't touch Social Security or Medicare, but cutting Medicaid will harm the same people who receive those programs, Amber Christ, a managing director at the advocacy group Justice in Aging, said in a recent webinar. Roughly 30% of Medicaid spending supports Medicare enrollees, she said. "Without Medicaid financial assistance, seniors could not afford Medicare," she said. In Omaha, Nebraska, more than one-third of all children and nearly 1 in 5 of all residents receive Medicaid funding, according to the advocacy group FamiliesUSA. Medicaid also covers 5 in 9 nursing home residents in Nebraska. Families in the Omaha metro area are already struggling to pay for their health care bills, FamiliesUSA found, with 18% saying they have trouble paying medical bills. A coalition of disability rights activists, unions and caregiving organizations planned a 24-hour rally in D.C. from 1 p.m. May 7 to noon May 8 to protest the cuts. In a little-noticed move, the federal workers who determine eligibility limits for Medicaid have all been laid off, said Manat Singh, executive director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, an advocacy group. "Everything that makes all of the work we do function is getting cut, dismantled, gutted, defunded, moved around, and it's hard enough for those of us who work on this every day to figure out what's going on," she said in a recent webinar. If hospitals are forced to close because of these cuts ‒ a distinct possibility, especially in small, rural areas and big cities, she and other public health experts said ‒ then many more than just Medicaid recipients will lose access to care. All of the CDC's staff involved in testing for lead poisoning in children have been eliminated, as have many grants for that purpose. The city of Milwaukee, for example, was relying on expertise from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help it address a growing problem of older elementary school students with lead poisoning, said Dr. Michael Totoraitis, the city's health commissioner. Milwaukee has lost $5 million in federal health care funding so far, including a grant to reduce health care disparities, wastewater testing for infectious diseases and support in addressing childhood lead poisoning. Totoraitis' staff was working with CDC officials to develop a long-term plan for helping older children with lead poisoning. But the entire childhood lead team at CDC was cut on April 3, and his city's request for help addressing lead poisoning was denied, he said in a Big Cities Health Coalition webinar. "Children are getting hurt, life expectancy is declining," he said. "We are handcuffed in our ability to help our own residents because the federal government had been helping us for decades with all these fights and currently is unresponsive to our needs." "It's a pretty humbling moment working in public health not knowing where to go (for expertise)," Totoraitis said. Kennedy has said he wants to put more public emphasis on addressing chronic diseases, particularly those in childhood. Marlene Schwartz, who directs the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health at the University of Connecticut, said she's thrilled the administration is interested in trying to prevent diet-related chronic diseases. Kennedy has promised a complete overhaul of the school lunch program, but so far, the only concrete change has been to cut a $1 billion Biden plan to buy local fresh foods for schools, child care centers and food banks. Kids typically eat healthier at school than at home, Schwartz said. Research has shown school meals are helping to reduce childhood obesity, and the Biden plan also would have benefited local farmers, she said. "I hope that the administration reconsiders and puts that program back into place," Schwartz said, "because I do think that it's very consistent with the goals of the administration to really improve children's diets." The flip side of Kennedy's effort to focus on chronic diseases is a plan to de-emphasize infectious ones. Already, Kennedy has overseen massive cuts to the government support for vaccines and disease prevention. President Joe Biden officially ended the COVID-19 emergency two years ago, but the Trump administration says that because the pandemic is over, no further spending is needed on the disease. So, it has ended financial support for wastewater screening, which allowed communities like Milwaukee to track the spread of COVID-19, along with flu and RSV. The administration has also delayed approval for updated and improved COVID-19 vaccines and abruptly cut research funding for other dangerous coronaviruses that might appear in the future. And it has ended spending on long COVID, the sometimes debilitating symptoms millions of people suffer for years after an infection. As the largest and deadliest measles outbreak in years rages in west Texas, Dallas County had to cancel more than 50 free measles vaccine clinics. Dr. Philip Huang, the health director in the county that includes the city of Dallas, said his department has had to lay off 21 staff members who conduct those clinics. No one in Dallas County has so far come down with measles in the current outbreak, though two adjacent counties have had cases. "If we get more people opting out and not vaccinated, this is what we start seeing," Huang said. The federal cutbacks have cost his department four out of its 30 epidemiologists, making it harder to investigate possible cases of measles, which are happening more often because of the state's outbreak, he said. Huang said he's also concerned about the apparent zeroing out of a program to prevent HIV in the United States. Each new person who comes down with HIV costs $420,000 in lifetime medical care, he said. In Dallas County alone, the price of supporting these patients came to more than $380 million in 2022. Eliminating prevention programs "is very short-sighted and crazy," Huang said. "If you're trying to be efficient, it makes absolutely no sense." Between the end of February and the end of April, 700 federal research grants were cut totalling $1.8 billion, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Those cuts affected 210 institutions, both public and private, all across the country ‒ not just the elite schools that have been the focus of political and media attention, said co-author Kushal Kadakia. One in five of those grants had been awarded to early-career researchers, said Kadakai, who graduates from Harvard Medical School in a few weeks and is heading into a medical residency program. "We're hopeful that any health research priority or policy for the United States is always seeking to advance the next generation of researchers," he said. "It'll remain to be seen whether these cuts are a temporary blip or it becomes the new policy or what it looks like for long-term sustainability for career researchers in the United States." About 70% of the grant funding had already been spent, said co-author Michael Liu, also a graduating Harvard Medical student. "It remains to be seen" whether the government will try to reclaim that money, he said. There are far too many cuts to basic research to detail, but the work of Dr. Mustafa Khasraw at the Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina offers one small example. He studies the exceedingly deadly brain cancer glioblastoma, and helped successfully lobby the federal government for $10 million to run research trials aimed at turning the immune system against these tumors. The grant was approved last year with strong support from both sides of the political aisle, which was fitting, as glioblastoma killed both Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat. Now, Khasraw said, he's been given no explanation and no funding. 'We submitted applications and there is no communication to what's happening to that money," he said. 'No one knows. We tried and no one says anything.' Research like his simply can't go on without that funding. 'We can start, but we're not going to be able to accomplish the long-term goals without federal support," he said. Contributed: Ken Alltucker, Adrianna Rodriguez This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cuts to health care spending will add costs, harm health, experts say
USA Today
24-04-2025
- Health
- USA Today
RFK Jr.'s impact on HHS so far has some worried
RFK Jr.'s impact on HHS so far has some worried | The Excerpt On a special episode (first released on April 23, 2025) of The Excerpt podcast: One of the most talked about and controversial cabinet appointments made by President Donald Trump has been that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic who has embraced several debunked health conspiracies. As secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, he now controls the Centers for Disease Control, which led the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Food & Drug Administration which looks after food safety, and many other consequential health subdepartments which safeguard the public's health. What changes has RFK Jr. enacted so far and what does the future of American health under his leadership look like? Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC, joins The Excerpt to share his concerns. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@ Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here Dana Taylor: Hello and welcome to The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025, and this is a special episode of The Excerpt. One of the most talked about and controversial cabinet appointments made by President Donald Trump has been that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic who has embraced several debunked health conspiracies. As Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, he now controls the Centers for Disease Control, which led the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration, and many other health sub-departments who are responsible for safeguarding public health. What changes has RFK Jr. enacted so far, and what does the future of American health under his leadership look like? Here to help me dig into this is Dr. Richard Besser, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC. Dr. Besser was a practicing pediatrician for over 30 years. Thank you so much for joining me, Dr. Besser. Dr. Richard Besser: Thanks so much for having me. Dana Taylor: RFK Jr. has been very vocal in his stance against vaccines in the past. But when the current measles outbreak in Texas started really growing, he pivoted and finally recommended that people vaccinate their kids. This has spurred the Make America Healthy Again crowd to turn against him. How can scientists address those who are so dead set against vaccines? Dr. Richard Besser: I want to push back a little bit on the initial premise. When Secretary Kennedy was first asked about the outbreak of measles at the end of the cabinet meeting, that was the moment where you would've liked to see your Secretary of Health forcibly say that this is something that can be prevented and every parent needs to make sure that their child is vaccinated against measles, and every adult needs to make sure that they as well are protected. Together, we can stop this outbreak. He didn't do that. He initially talked about vitamin A. He talked about nutrition. He talked about vaccines being an option. And it took a long time for him to come around and say that yes, the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself from measles. He didn't come out forcibly and say, "Every parent needs to make sure their child is vaccinated." Again, he said it's a parental choice. And clearly it is a choice for parents to make. I, as you said, practiced pediatrics for over 30 years, and I spent a lot of time talking with parents about vaccines and vaccine safety. And I know as a pediatrician that there's nothing I did that had more value in terms of the health of the children in my practice than making sure they were vaccinated fully and on time. And that took spending time with parents who ask good questions. Parents should get their questions answered. But you want to see from the leadership on down that there is true support for vaccination broadly or we're going to see the return of a lot of diseases that thankfully in this country we haven't had to experience. For those parents who are skeptical, it really takes making sure that those in leadership are following the science, following the evidence, and are speaking of one voice about the importance of vaccination. Dana Taylor: RFK Jr. recently spoke at a Make America Healthy Again event in Indiana. I want to play a short clip for you here. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: People get measles because they don't vaccinate. They get measles because the vaccine wanes. The vaccine's waning about 4.8% per year. And so it's a leaky vaccine and that problem is always going to be around. Dana Taylor: What he just said is untrue. Why doubt data that his own organization, the CDC, which is underneath HHS, disputes on its own website? How can the medical community fight this blatant misinformation? Dr. Richard Besser: This is one of those big challenges. I spoke out very forcibly against the nomination of RFK Jr. for this position, and he has shown his colors in the role so far as undermining people's faith and trust in vaccines. The measles vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines, if not the most effective vaccine that we have, and being vaccinated fully provides 95% protection. It's not 100%. So that means that if there are 100 people in a community who've been vaccinated, there are five of them who probably don't have protection. So you need to make sure that the levels of coverage are high enough that those people who didn't get protection and those people who couldn't get vaccinated because they may have an immune problem that made the vaccine not safe for them, that they're protected as well. So to talk about it falsely as being a leaky vaccine is something that will undermine some people's faith in that and lead parents who want to do the right thing for their children, some of them will make the wrong decision. Dana Taylor: Dr. Besser, I want to turn now to RFK Jr.'s long debunked claims that vaccines are a cause of autism. Kennedy recently tapped a vaccine skeptic David Guyer to lead a major study about vaccines and autisms. And at his first press conference recently, he also doubled down on his view that toxins in the environment contribute to autism. What do you say to people who believe that either of these theories has legs? Dr. Richard Besser: It's a clear example of the anti-science, anti-evidence movement. Secretary Kennedy has done more than just about anyone in America to undermine people's confidence in vaccines. And spreading the false theory that vaccines cause autism takes away research dollars that could be looking at what are some of the causes of autism, what are some of the supports and services that help people who are autistic lead the most fulsome life possible? It takes the efforts away from research that could be very productive, and it undermines people's confidence in vaccines. The question about whether vaccines cause autism has been addressed again and again and again by some of the best scientists in the world. It's been reviewed by expert scientific committees. And the conclusion is clear that vaccines, preservatives and vaccines as well do not cause autism. And so taking the attention away and saying that he will answer this question by the fall is absolutely the definition of absurdity. Dana Taylor: No one is arguing that America isn't facing an obesity epidemic, a condition related to a number of comorbidities such as high blood pressure and heart disease. What do you think of RFK Jr.'s approach to making Americans healthier? And is there something policy-wise you think should be done on that front? Dr. Richard Besser: I think that there's a lot we could do in America to address chronic diseases. And there are things that we should do. One is it's critically important that everyone in America has access to high quality, comprehensive, affordable healthcare. That's not the case. The Affordable Care Act moved us in that direction, but there's still 25 million people who lack health insurance. And the value of having a healthcare provider who knows you is that they can check your blood pressure and see if it's starting to creep up. They can talk to you about nutrition and help you get access to foods that will help prevent diabetes and prevent heart disease. But we don't have that in America. We also know that one of the best ways to address chronic disease is to ensure that people have enough money to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and the foods that they know will help them stay healthy. You could do that by addressing the minimum wage in America. You could do that by addressing poverty in America. But what we've seen so far from the Secretary who says that he's interested in chronic disease, he's basically come in and wiped out all the expertise that the Centers for Disease Control that focused on chronic disease. He eliminated the Office on Smoking and Health, and smoking is the number one preventable cause of chronic disease, whether you're talking about stroke or heart disease or cancer. This is incredible for someone who says that he cares about chronic disease to basically decimate departments, divisions within Health and Human Services that focus on this area. If we really want to address chronic disease in America, pull together the best and the brightest, and let's go at it. Let's go at the school lunch program and make sure that children in every school in America are served a healthy lunch. For some children, half their calories come from that school lunch, but we're basically paying peanuts for those lunches. Let's put some real money in there so that those lunches are the best lunch possible. That would do a lot towards addressing chronic disease. Dana Taylor: As you know, the cuts to the National Institutes of Health grants of devastated universities across the country. These grants fund research on a wide range of critical things that keep us healthy and keep America at the forefront of medical research. How can universities pivot in this moment to keep these research projects alive? Dr. Richard Besser: Well, they can't. That's the bottom line. We are a large philanthropy and we're trying to do our part, but you can't make up for federal dollars. I served in the federal government for 13 years at the CDC under Republican administrations, Democratic administrations. There was always widespread support for the National Institutes of Health. The reason for that is that there's a great recognition that our investment in basic science research, in all the research that NIH does leads to cures, leads to a healthier society. And that's something that people in both parties could agree on. At CDC, we always envied the support that Congress showed for the National Institutes of Health, because they could go to Capitol Hill and talk to each representative, each senator. And everyone in their life knows someone who has suffered from a disease that they would like to see either prevented or new treatments for, and that has led to that support. Seeing these dramatic cuts to universities will take what has been one of America's greatest contributions to the entire world, and that's our biotech industry and put us on our heels. We will no longer be looked to for the solutions to the health problems that face people all over the world. Dana Taylor: There's something fundamentally essential about the relationship between the Department of Health and Human Services and the American public. Trust in government and institutions in general has been eroding in recent years. But for health, it's so integral to the ability of government to deliver on its promises. How do we build back that trust, especially in this environment? Dr. Richard Besser: That's a terrific question. I was very concerned with how trust in public health was undermined during the COVID pandemic. I led CDC at the start of the swine flu pandemic in 2009, and what we saw then was the highest levels of trust in governmental public health that had been seen in any response in US history. And that was done largely by the communication approaches that we took, being direct with the American public, letting people know what we knew, what we didn't know, what we were doing to get answers, what people could do to protect their health. And the reason that was so effective was that political leaders were standing side by side with the leaders in public health and nodding along and supporting the public health recommendations. What we saw during COVID was a direct demonization of public health by our political leadership. And we're paying the price for that now, because people do not trust public health in the way that they should. There are also problems in that public health has not always met the needs of people in every community. For some communities, in particular Black and brown communities, the trust wasn't there to begin with. But what we're seeing now is a direct effort by some in government to instill further distrust in public health and the public servants who are there trying to improve the health for people across our country and around the world. And that's absolutely devastating. Because if people don't believe the recommendations that come from public health, if those recommendations become totally politicized by people who are anti-science and have their own agendas, it will be really, really challenging for people across the country who want to make the best health decisions that they can. I encourage people to try and identify a health provider who they trust, develop that relationship, and go there for information, because that's the best way to ensure that you're getting information that you can use for your own health decisions. Dana Taylor: Dr. Besser, thank you so much for being on The Excerpt. Dr. Richard Besser: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Dana Taylor: Thanks to our senior producers Shannon Rae Green and Kaely Monahan for their production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts@ Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow morning with another episode of The Excerpt.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Which jobs were cut at CDC? Here's a list.
The layoffs at CDC this week hit global and environmental health as well as HIV prevention programs especially hard, according to an overview document obtained by POLITICO. The document, shared during an agency meeting Tuesday, paints a picture of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that will be more narrowly focused on infectious disease, with a significantly less holistic view of public health. The job cuts include the elimination of about a fourth of the staff at the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention and about a third of the workers at the CDC's Injury Center. 'When you see the elimination of the Office of Smoking and Health, when smoking is the leading preventable cause of chronic disease, you have to ask the question, 'What are they thinking?'' asked Dr. Richard Besser, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the agency. The cuts are part of a large-scale restructuring at the Department of Health and Human Services — with the goal of eliminating 10,000 employees, 2,400 from CDC. A spokesperson for HHS did not respond to a request asking whether changes to the staff reductions had been made since they were shared with staff Tuesday. ABC News reported that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to reinstate some workers who were mistakenly fired. Here are the cuts: — National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion was reduced by about a third, losing the Office on Smoking and Health, Oral Health, Population Health, and some of the Reproductive Health divisions. — The Office of Health Equity was eliminated. The parts of its work that are written into law will go to the Office of Minority Health and the Office of Women's Health. — Discretionary programs were cut from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, leaving behind only the mandatory World Trade Center health program and the Radiation Dose Reconstruction Program. The Trump administration plans to fold NIOSH into a new HHS agency called the Administration for a Healthy America. — The cuts dissolve the Birth Defects Center, but retain some of its work, including the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network. Some birth defects surveillance will continue, as well as autism surveillance. — The National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention lost about a fourth of its staff. The biggest cuts came from the Division of HIV Prevention. The Global Health Center Division of Global HIV & TB was also reduced by roughly a fourth. — CDC's Injury Center lost roughly a third of its staff. It will retain the Overdose Prevention Division and suicide prevention branch. Some surveillance activities will continue, like the National Violent Death Reporting System and 'adverse childhood experience' monitoring. — The National Center for Environmental Health lost its Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will be folded into the Administration for a Healthy America. — The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases lost its partnership and health equity branch. — The media support, broadcast services, visual design, and content and engagement branches were cut from the Office of Communications. — The Office of Acquisition Services in the Office of Financial Resources and the Office of Human Resources saw big cuts, while the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity was eliminated. — The CDC's office tasked with responding to Freedom of Information Act requests was cut. The administration plans to create one FOIA office for all of HHS. — The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response lost 81 staff, according to an HHS official granted anonymity to discuss the cuts. Around a dozen of those let go were Strategic National Stockpile employees who worked in state, local, tribal and territorial programs, while others worked on grant management. Around 30 of the layoffs were from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the person said. The Trump administration has not publicly released a detailed overview of cuts at HHS, of which CDC is part, leading to confusion about the reorganization. 'The important next step for HHS is to answer questions from Congress, release a chart [of the cuts], share information with partners, and make sure that state and local health departments who carry this work out in communities across the country know who to call,' said Chrissie Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, a forum of leaders from the nation's largest urban public health departments.
Politico
03-04-2025
- Health
- Politico
Which jobs were cut at CDC? Here's a list.
The layoffs at CDC this week hit global and environmental health as well as HIV prevention programs especially hard, according to an overview document obtained by POLITICO. The document, shared during an agency meeting Tuesday, paints a picture of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that will be more narrowly focused on infectious disease, with a significantly less holistic view of public health. The job cuts include the elimination of about a fourth of the staff at the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention and about a third of the workers at the CDC's Injury Center. 'When you see the elimination of the Office of Smoking and Health, when smoking is the leading preventable cause of chronic disease, you have to ask the question, 'What are they thinking?' asked Dr. Richard Besser, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the agency. The cuts are part of a large-scale restructuring at the Department of Health and Human Services — with the goal of eliminating 10,000 employees, 2,400 from CDC. A spokesperson for HHS did not respond to a request asking whether changes to the staff reductions had been made since they were shared with staff Tuesday. ABC News reported that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to reinstate some workers who were mistakenly fired. Here are the cuts: — National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion was reduced by about a third, losing the Office on Smoking and Health, Oral Health, Population Health, and some of the Reproductive Health divisions. — The Office of Health Equity was eliminated. The parts of its work that are written into law will go to the Office of Minority Health and the Office of Women's Health. — Discretionary programs were cut from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, leaving behind only the mandatory World Trade Center health program and the Radiation Dose Reconstruction Program. The Trump administration plans to fold NIOSH into a new HHS agency called the Administration for a Healthy America. — The cuts dissolve the Birth Defects Center, but retain some of its work, including the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network. Some birth defects surveillance will continue, as well as autism surveillance. — The National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention lost about a fourth of its staff. The biggest cuts came from the Division of HIV Prevention. The Global Health Center Division of Global HIV & TB was also reduced by roughly a fourth. — CDC's Injury Center lost roughly a third of its staff. It will retain the Overdose Prevention Division and suicide prevention branch. Some surveillance activities will continue, like the National Violent Death Reporting System and 'adverse childhood experience' monitoring. — The National Center for Environmental Health lost its Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will be folded into the Administration for a Healthy America. — The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases lost its partnership and health equity branch. — The media support, broadcast services, visual design, and content and engagement branches were cut from the Office of Communications. — The Office of Acquisition Services in the Office of Financial Resources and the Office of Human Resources saw big cuts, while the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity was eliminated. — The CDC's office tasked with responding to Freedom of Information Act requests was cut. The administration plans to create one FOIA office for all of HHS. — The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response lost 81 staff, according to an HHS official granted anonymity to discuss the cuts. Around a dozen of those let go were Strategic National Stockpile employees who worked in state, local, tribal and territorial programs, while others worked on grant management. Around 30 of the layoffs were from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the person said. The Trump administration has not publicly released a detailed overview of cuts at HHS, of which CDC is part, leading to confusion about the reorganization. 'The important next step for HHS is to answer questions from Congress, release a chart [of the cuts], share information with partners, and make sure that state and local health departments who carry this work out in communities across the country know who to call,' said Chrissie Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, a forum of leaders from the nation's largest urban public health departments.
