THE First week of President Donald’s second term came with radical changes to federal health agencies.
The United States Ministry of Health and Social Services (HHS) has been informed by the Administration to stop all non -emergency external communications.
Some members of health agencies are also temporarily prohibited from traveling and have been invited to stop working with the World Health Organization (WHO), according to internal sources and communications examined by ABC News.
Here is an overview of some of the changes in last week:
HHS said to suspend all external communications
Two sources have confirmed to ABC News earlier this week that the incoming administration told the federal health agencies to suspend external communications for the moment. This includes agencies that fall under HHS such as the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.
The directive did not include the mention of the communications exam to align with the new potential secretary, according to an HHS official.
The official also said that the break was not yet worrying, but would be if she goes more than a week or hinders regular functions.
“HHS issued a break on mass communications and public appearances which are not directly linked to emergency or essential to the preservation of health,” the HHS said in a statement on Thursday. “This is a brief break to allow the new team to set up a revision and prioritization process. There are exceptions to announce that HHS divisions think that the mission is critical, but they will be done in case per case. “
The Sun moved alongside the brand marking the head office of the American Department of Health and Social Services on February 9, 2024, in Washington, DC.
Images J. David Ake / Getty, file
A note sent to federal health agencies has noted that the communication hiatus will extend until February 1, a CDC official told certain staff, according to an audio registration examined by ABC News.
The break also led to the fact that the CDC does not publish a weekly report of several decades, known as Weekly ratio of morbidity and mortality (MMWR), which is generally published on Thursday afternoon.
Sometimes called “the voice of the CDC”, the agency has mmwr as “the main vehicle for the scientific publication of information and recommendations in terms of public health in a timely, authority and useful”.
The CDC official also told employees in a call they “expected advice on scientific publications and hoped to have something to share very soon to share”.
Health managers are not allowed to travel
Travel has also been temporarily canceled for all HHS employees. In the audio recording of the Thursday call, CDC officials told staff that the change was in force immediately.
“Future travel requests for any reason whatsoever is not authorized and cannot be approved,” said the manager during a call. “In addition, HHS Travel is not authorized for employees who have accepted speeches before January 20, it must be canceled.”
The official declared on the appeal that the policy would remain in force until further notice.
The work stopped with the
In addition, federal health agencies have been ordered to stop working on all projects involving WHO, according to sources.
The entry of the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 23, 2025 in Geneva.
Robert Hradil / Getty images
It comes after Trump signed a decree on Monday evening withdraw the United States of WHO.
In the orderTrump accused the World Health Agency to “manage” the Covid-19 pandemic, not to adopt “urgent reforms” and be politically influenced by other Member States. The president also said that the withdrawal was to “be ripped off”.
Cheyenne Haslett from ABC News and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.