PUBLIC HEALTHCDC in Crisis: Mass Layoffs, Leadership Turmoil, and Vaccine Controversy
Roughly 3,000 of CDC’s 13,000 staff received RIF (reduction-in-force) notices this year. Officials warn that these layoffs have left the CDC dangerously unprepared to protect Americans’ health and safety.
Wired said it best: “A Quarter of the CDC Is Gone.”
Following multiple rounds of mass firings, partial reversals, and several terminations still pending legal review, the union representing the employees at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that roughly 3,000 of its 13,000 staff received RIF (reduction-in-force) notices this year. Many of these affected worked on chronic disease prevention, nutrition and health initiatives, or handled state requests to investigate overdose and drowning deaths. Others were mental health professionals who supported staff after the August shooting at CDC headquarters in Atlanta.
Officials warn that these layoffs have left the CDC dangerously unprepared to protect Americans’ health and safety. “The CDC cannot protect all of us in the U.S. if they continue to have staff and resource cuts,” said Debra Houry, the former Chief Medical Officer.
The leadership turmoil doesn’t end there. In recent weeks, former acting CDC Director, Richard Besser, called the cuts “absolutely heartbreaking” and criticized current acting Director Jim O’Neill’s proposal to split the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate shots – despite O’Neill’s lack of public health or scientific training. The proposal has raised alarms from health experts, who warn that dividing the vaccine into multiple doses would increase the number of health care visits needed; reduce access to the vaccines; and lower overall vaccination rates.
Current CDC employees also missed IDWeek, the nation’s largest infectious disease conference – amid a recent uptick in measles and whooping cough cases across the U.S. During the conference, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and the Centers of Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) announced a new collaboration to fill gaps in federal public health communication. Together, they plan to publish “public health alerts” in the coming month, serving as an alternative to CDC’s paused Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) – often referred to as “the voice of the CDC.”
Broader Impacts Across Health and Security Agencies in the U.S.
The CDC is not the only federal agency reeling from disruptions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has faced furloughs and staffing cuts – just days before the start of open enrollment. CMS later confirmed that workers would return on Oct. 27, noting that the agency would cover user operation fees as the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week.
Meanwhile, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) – responsible for overseeing the U.S. nuclear stockpile – furloughed 1,400 employees on Monday as part of the ongoing shutdown, with fewer than 400 remaining to safeguard the stockpile. Earlier this year, the Trump administration also fired hundreds of NNSA employees, before reversing the decision following criticism of jeopardizing national security.
Further Reading:
“Local Health Leaders Rebuke Federal Vaccine Policy,” Joseph Choi, The Hill
Carmen Shaw is Co-Managing Editor of the Pandora Report. This article is published courtesy of the Pandora Report.
