President Donald Trump’s administration has paused almost all external communication from health agencies, including the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Washington Post and The Associated Press reported this week. That includes health advisories, scientific reports and updates to websites.
Reuters also reported that agency staffers have been told to halt outside meetings.
The Post said the administration did not make clear whether the directive will affect alerts about urgent news, such as foodborne disease outbreaks, drug approvals and new human cases of bird flu.
A later report from The Associated Press said a memo from the administration affirmed that some exceptions would be made. Those include communications affecting “critical health, safety, environmental, financial or nation security functions,” but that those would be subject to review. It said the pause would last until Feb. 1.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration posted notices about warning letters sent to companies and a drug safety notice.
But Reuters reported that South Dakota’s state veterinarian confirmed that the CDC on Wednesday canceled an upcoming, regularly scheduled call with state veterinarians that would normally focus on bird flu. “There was no reason given,” she said.
The CDC has been the key source of information about the spread of bird flu in the United States in recent months.
Georgia has not yet had a human case of bird flu, and officials say human risk is low. However, two flocks of chickens were recently found to be infected in the state.
As of Thursday night, there had been no sign of the CDC’s signature weekly research report that is sent out broadly to the public and scientists. The last one was published Jan. 16 under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Officials quoted in the stories had varied reactions, some saying that, while the pause seemed broad, a pause was not unusual as a new leadership hierarchy gets into place. Their main concern was if the administration attempted to silence or shape scientific findings for political reasons, as was alleged under Trump’s first term during the pandemic.
Richard Ricciardi — who worked on pandemic response for the U.S. Army and is now associate dean for clinical practice and community engagement at the George Washington University School of Nursing — concurred in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday that delays happen during a transition.
“I think the critical element is how long it’s going to be shut down,” Ricciardi said.
Separately, CBS reported this week that the CDC was without an acting director, an important position during transitions of power to ensure the smooth flow of regular scientific business and communication with the presidential administration. The acting director would serve while waiting for Trump’s permanent nominee, Dr. Dave Weldon, to go through the confirmation process.
CBS reported later Thursday that the administration was in the process of choosing a scientist from outside the CDC to be acting director.
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