More than 100 public heath leaders yesterday sent a letter to US House and Senate leaders, asking them to stop the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and undermine the nation’s public health infrastructure.
In other developments, as cuts to departments across the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) take effect, some of the impacts are becoming clear, among them delayed vaccine approval, the shuttering of a CDC lab that tests for sexually transmitted diseases, and the closure of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) office that runs the group’s vaccine advisory committee meetings.
Leaders ask for oversight hearings
The letter from former and current health leaders to members of Congress was organized by For Our Health, an arm of the American Public Health Association (APHA) that brings senior public health leaders together to publicly support of public health.
In the letter, the group said the drastic plan announced by HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., which would cut 10,000 full-time positions and transfer key duties to a newly created “Administration for a Healthy America,” would seriously compromise the nation’s ability to prevent and respond to health emergencies. Health officials are bracing for more cuts, according to a New York Times report that said the Trump administration is requiring the CDC to cut $2.9 billion more in contracts.
The letter was signed by health officials who served in five different presidential administrations, including the first Trump administration.
In an APHA press release, Mary Pittman, For Our Health’s cofounder and former president and chief executive officer of The Public Health Institute, said the moment represents a profound danger to public health, especially against the backdrop of crises such as avian flu, a large measles outbreak, and erosion of injury control and chronic health disease programs.
The leaders asked Congress to hold oversight hearings on the restructuring of CDC and other HHS agencies, reinstate health funding for critical public health programs, strengthen vaccination efforts and counter misinformation, and protect evidence-based health programs.
Delayed Novavax COVID vaccine approval
In an unusual step, the FDA’s principal deputy commissioner, Sara Brenner, has intervened in the agency’s review of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine for full approval, Politico reported yesterday. Four people familiar with the process said Brenner asked for more data on the vaccine. The delay was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
FDA career staff typically review and manage massive amounts of data that support product reviews, a step designed to shield the process from political interference.
A Novavax official said the FDA had indicated that the FDA had set an April 2025 approval deadline. The vaccine, currently authorized for emergency use, is the only protein-based option and contains the Matrix M adjuvant. It is indicated for use in people ages 12 and older.
Cuts wipe out more CDC and FDA offices
With the large and sudden cuts to HHS agencies, news is starting to trickle out about the many impacts.
For example, multiple CDC officials told CBS News that the HHS cuts have shuttered labs for sexually transmitted disease and hepatitis, disrupting outbreak response and leaving specimen shipments to the CDC from states in limbo.
Also, the recently announced HHS cuts have wiped out the staff that runs the FDA’s vaccine advisory group, according to Bloomberg News. The group, called the Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), is among the federal advisory committees that have been sidelined since the Trump administration took office.
