‘Suppressing essential health information’: Some officials frustrated by Trump administration’s limits on health agencies

Canceled meetings and limited updates on life-threatening diseases. These are some of the real-world implications caused by sweeping mandates on health agencies.

Canceled meetings, blocked webpages and limited updates on life-threatening diseases spreading across the country. These are some of the real-world implications caused by the vague and sweeping mandates President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed on federal health agencies in recent weeks amid an intense flu season and new H5N1 bird flu infections. “President Trump is suppressing essential health information that public health agencies and providers across the country rely on to do our jobs,” said Dr. Robbie Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. “He is putting the health and well-being of Americans at risk.” When Trump entered office last month, his administration almost immediately directed federal health agencies to pause external communications. Even though an initial phase of the pause has been lifted, emails obtained by CNN show staffers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been ordered to seek multiple layers of approval before releasing mass communications or committing to public speaking events. Such limits have had ripple effects, records show. And more changes could be coming as thousands of federal probationary health workers across agencies were targeted to be pushed out Friday in what employees at the CDC called “The Valentine’s Day Massacre.” In Texas, the state health department last week canceled an immunization conference scheduled for May because of “uncertainty about the ability of CDC personnel to participate.” The scuttling of the conference comes as some Texas counties are facing an outbreak of measles that includes unvaccinated people. Separately, CDC representatives did not show up to a meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, concerning the control of diseases caused by food and waterborne illnesses late last month.