Several federal health agencies have stopped releasing some key health information — including updates on some outbreak investigations — amid a department-wide communications “pause” ordered by the administration Trump, although many other “critical” updates are still being released, CBS News reported. learned.
The Department of Health and Human Services “has issued a pause on mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or are not essential to preserving health,” said Stefanie Spear, HHS principal deputy chief of staff, to CBS News in an email. “This is a short pause to allow the new team to establish a review and prioritization process.”
The Food and Drug Administration, a federal agency of HHS, typically posts updates to probes epidemics linked to contaminated food every Wednesday, but the agency did not release them this week. Since the FDA’s last update on January 15, officials have been investigating several outbreaks of E. coli. coli and Listeria.
Release of the authoritative scientific publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Reportwas also delayed, health officials said. Articles were published almost every Thursday for decadesdetailing agency guidance, updates on disease outbreak investigations and health threat studies. But no numbers were released as of Thursday.
Weekly CDC rate updates flu And COVID-19 vaccines were also disrupted, the agency’s website said. Local health departments and nonprofit organizations rely on these numbers to track vaccination rates, targeting communities lagging in vaccination rates.
A Jan. 21 memo obtained by CBS News from Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Dorthy Fink ordered health agencies, “consistent with precedent,” to stop all new policies, communications and speeches without approving them with officials of the new administration until February 1.
Politico first reported the directive on Tuesday.
Spear said there are “exceptions” for “mission-critical” announcements, which will be made “on a case-by-case basis.”
The CDC again published its weekly count of certain infectious diseases reported to the agency by health departments, which include tracking germs like whooping cough which have experienced a record wave in recent months.
Updated trend data emergency room visits respiratory illnesses were also updated on Friday. Local authorities and health systems use the data to track flu and COVID-19 each winter during outbreaks.
At least some of the CDC’s work with foreigners is still ongoing. A spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Health said Thursday that the CDC was still involved in an investigation. ongoing investigation of unusual side effects linked to an antibiotic injection used in the state.
So far, public health labs haven’t been bothered by the pause either, a lab official outside the federal government said, despite a handful of canceled webinars and calls.
An update to the CDC travel advisory for Tanzania has also been published Thursdayaccording to the World Health Organization announcement an outbreak of Marburg virus disease has been confirmed in the country.
The FDA always publishes notice on recalls. A security communications was also released by the FDA this week, warning of an allergic reaction linked to a multiple sclerosis drug.
Several current and former health officials said a slowdown in communications has occurred during each recent transition, as new officials seek to master the flow of information and advice from across the board. of the federal health bureaucracy.
But some also said the duration and magnitude of the communications slowdown was unusual, leading to confusion among staff as health agencies sought to stop or reduce communications, meetings and events to comply with the directive.
At the National Institutes of Health, meetings held to review grant applications were abruptly canceled and agency experts attending outside events and conferences were unexpectedly recalled or participated without comment, said a researcher.
A meeting organized by the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, scheduled for next week, took place also canceledaccording to an email obtained by CBS News. At the meeting, health officials from several countries were expected to discuss strategies to combat superbugs.
Another monthly meeting scheduled by the CDC on January 27 with testing laboratories was also canceled. The CDC relies on monthly calls to answer questions about guidelines and ongoing laboratory outbreaks, such as the recent change in testing procedures in response to last year’s unprecedented avian flu outbreak.
The end of the communications “pause” will coincide with the conclusion of Senate hearings next week for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s controversial nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
It is unclear whether Kennedy, a former Democrat who has been widely criticized for his anti-vaccine statements and activism, will have the support needed to be confirmed in a closely divided Senate.