The Trump administration, moving quickly to rein in health and science agencies, has canceled a series of scientific meetings and directed federal health officials to focus on the nation’s growing bird flu crisis. Avoid all public communications, including incoming reports.
Experts who serve on external advisory panels on topics ranging from antibiotic resistance to deafness received emails Wednesday saying their meetings had been canceled.
The cancellations followed a directive issued Tuesday by the acting director of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, which banned their public release. According to an internal memo reviewed by federal officials and The New York Times, any public communication unless it has been reviewed by a presidential appointee or designee.
This directive mandates the public release of “regulations, guidance documents, and other public documents and communications, including any “notices,” “grant announcements,” news releases, speaking engagements or official correspondence with public officials. has been granted, until they receive approval.
The new stricture applies to messages in email groups and social media posts, and includes a ban on Federal Register announcements, without which many government processes cannot continue. Some of the notices sent by the Biden administration in its final week were quickly withdrawn.
The cancellation and communications crackdown sent a chill through Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees and the broader scientific community. The directive was first reported by The Washington Post.
Representatives for the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration declined to comment. This ban will continue till February 1.
The result was immediate.
CDC officials were set to release an issue of the Weekly Influenza Morbidity and Mortality Report on Thursday that included several items related to bird flu outbreaks on dairy and poultry farms.
The weekly reports have been called the “holy of holies,” an important means of communicating progress in public health. This week’s publication has now been halted as a result of the order, according to two federal health officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Upcoming meetings of external advisory panels on health issues have been canceled, according to panel members, who spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation. For example, meetings to review grant proposals submitted to the National Institutes of Health were cleared.
Members of the President’s Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria were told that their two-day meeting, scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday, has been canceled “because the new administration is managing federal policy and public communications.” Considering her plans for
Those who pre-registered for the celebratory dinner were told they would be fully reimbursed within 48 hours of receiving the email.
The directive was signed by Dr. Dorothy Fink, Acting Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee to lead the department, is not expected to have a confirmation hearing for at least another week.
The administration has yet to name an acting director for the CDC or an acting commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration, typically the first moves by an incoming administration.
The communications outage comes alongside other changes facing federal employees since Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Monday, including hiring freezes, the end of remote work and the closing of diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programs.
Late Wednesday, Dr. Fink issued another directive aimed at dismantling diversity and inclusion efforts at HHS and warned against trying to “hide these programs by using coded or misleading language.” His letter encouraged employees to report colleagues who were not complying.
Former federal officials said it was not unusual for a new administration to limit communications during the initial transition, but the scope and duration of the latest pause was unexpected.
Staff members of the incoming Trump administration did not use the transition period to meet with federal health officials and familiarize themselves with the agencies.
And while pauses on communication are not out of the ordinary, previous administrations have not limited scientific publications like the MMWR or health guidelines because of their critical importance to the public welfare.
“It’s not unusual for a new administration to want to centralize communications,” said Dr. Richard Besser, chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC.
“It is unusual for an agency to withhold all communications where one of its primary responsibilities is to keep the public informed,” he added.
Privately, several federal officials said they were confused about whether the ban on communications with the Federal Register included health data. Some officials appeared completely unaware of the restrictions.
Much of the concern is focused on the CDC, whose responsibilities certainly include public communications. The agency, for example, recently warned doctors and patients about the potential health risks of an emerging version of MPox and the Marburg disease outbreak in Rwanda.
The agency issued new guidelines on health care providers expanding pneumococcal vaccine recommendations and findings on the mental health impact of the pandemic, and the incidence of tularemia, a rare infectious disease, in the United States. Warning about the increase.
Chrissy Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, said state and city health officials rely on the CDC’s notices to make decisions for their communities, such as when to increase flu testing or what symptoms of illness. To keep an eye on. Leaders of urban public health departments.
While much of that information may be delayed by a few days, he said he hopes the administration has plans to disseminate more important public health information, especially i Regarding bird flu outbreaks
In the past year, the bird flu virus, known as H5N1, has infected dozens of animal species and more than 35 million wild and commercial birds, sending egg prices soaring. It has also infected at least 67 people. The first human death related to bird flu was recorded in the country in December.
“Can something like bird flu turn on a dime in 10 days?” Ms. Juliano said. “Yes. I would hope that information would come forward if these indicators were looked at at the federal level.
Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and a former Biden administration covid czar, said the interception of communications was likely a result of the Trump administration’s “particularly messy” transition to the White House, rather than an attempt to withhold information. .
Still, public health experts are wary of any changes in access to federal health data. Memories of Mr. Trump’s last tenure, during which political appointees repeatedly interfered with CDC reports and guidance documents, are still raw.
“I think if it goes anywhere beyond February 1, then we have a much more serious problem,” Dr. Jha said.
