PUBLIC HEALTHMass Layoffs, Sweeping Funding Cuts Threaten U.S. Public Health
The first 100 days of the Trump administration saw more than 20,000 jobs in the public health field terminated and billions of dollars in funding axed. The proposed 2026 budged calls for additional cuts of $40 billion to HHS budget.
Pandora Report writes:
The first 100 days of this administration have proven detrimental to public health. More than 20,000 jobs in the field were terminated, billions of dollars in funding has been axed or threatened, the administration’s draft budget proposal is setting the stage for a potential $40 billion funding cut to HHS, and even drinking water fluoridation is in jeopardy. The turmoil is already weakening public trust in relevant organizations. Polling from Harvard’s T.H. Chan SPH and the de Beaumont Foundation found 44% of US adults sampled have indicated new leadership in charge of federal public health agencies will make them trust health recommendations from those agencies less than they previously did.
Further Reading:
· “Day by Day, How Trump is Roiling Science and Health,” Usha Lee McFarling, STAT News
· “Here’s How the Trump Administration Has Changed Health Policy in Its First 100 Days,” Kwong et al., NPR
· “Trump 100 Days: Public Health,” Amanda Seitz, AP News
· “How Public Health Has Been Upended in Trump’s First 100 Days,” Washington Post Staff, The Washington Post
· “Poll: Many Americans Say They Will Lose Trust in Public Health Recommendations Under Federal Leadership Changes,” Maya Brownstein, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
· “5 Places to Turn for Accurate Health Information,” Teddy Rosenbluth, The New York Times
· “F.D.A. Scientists Are Reinstated at Agency Food Safety Labs,” Christina Jewett, The New York Times
· “U.S. Health Officials Inject New Uncertainty Into Approval Process for Covid Boosters,” Helen Branswell, STAT News
· “America’s Response to Measles is Eroding Its Ability to Deter Biological Attacks,” Steph Batalis, Defense One
· “RFK Jr. Asks CDC for New Measles Treatment Guidance Amid His Unfounded Claims,” Alexander Tin, CBS News
· “US at Tipping Point for Return of Endemic Measles,” Nancy Lapid, Reuters
· “Hospitals Begin to Grapple with Tariff Fallout,” Tina Reed, Axios
This article is published courtesy of the Pandora Report.
