Meetings and panels of federal science and health agencies were abruptly canceled on Wednesday, raising fresh concerns about how a potential overhaul of the agencies by President Donald Trump’s administration could affect important research and diseases. could hamper official responses to outbreaks, including the rise of H5N1 bird flu in dairy. Cows and poultry.
According to State Newsa scientific publication, among the canceled meetings are several National Institutes of Health (NIH) meetings. Sections of Studywho review applications for fellowships and grants; Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria meets on January 28-29; and a Feb. 20-21 meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, which advises the Department of Health and Human Services on vaccine policy and development.
Some meetings were not rescheduled. It is unclear if the cancellations were related to this. The status quo of the Trump administration By February 1 on travel and external communications for most federal health agencies. Because of the freeze, spokespeople for the affected agencies were unable to respond to reporters’ questions about the meetings, but one told Stat News: “This is a short break to allow for review and prioritization.” New Team to Establish a Process There are exceptions for announcements that HHS divisions believe are mission critical, but they will be made on a case-by-case basis.
The Trump administration is expected to impose a hiatus on other agencies as its own appointees are in place. While a communication hiatus is not unusual at the start of a presidential term, experts say uncertainty about how long it will last, travel bans and cancellations of meetings are likely to create significant disruptions throughout the system. .
“This kind of disruption can have long-lasting effects,” says Jane Leibshitz, who studies opioid addiction at the University of Pittsburgh. told Science.org. “Even a short delay will set America back in research.” He said he and his colleagues were feeling “a lot of uncertainty, fear and panic”.
The uncertainty of how long the cancellations will take effect can cause a lot of stress, said Rebecca Pompano, a chemist and biomedical engineer at the University of Virginia, whose study session was canceled 20 minutes before it was scheduled to begin. . It would also “delay the distribution of grants, affecting labs’ ability to pay their students and postdocs and staff… In some cases, if there was a gap in funding, The result may be that someone is either not hired at all or has to be fired.” Exacerbating the tension, she added, Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy, a vaccine denier, has said he wants federal health agencies to undergo a sweeping overhaul and purge of personnel. Will submit.
The communications freeze can also delay the sharing of information on emerging health incidents — three new reports on the H5N1 outbreak published this week have been blocked, according to a CDC official who spoke to State News anonymously, and it’s unclear when he will. be released
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