RFK Jr. makes sweeping cuts in federal health programs, including CDC, FDA

Medical researchers from universities and the National Institutes of Health rally near the Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington to protest federal budget cuts in Feburary. It will cut its workforce by 3,500 full-time employees — a reduction that a health department fact sheet said “will not affect drug, medical device, or food reviewers, nor will it impact inspectors.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a vast $9-billion agency that works to prevent chronic diseases, fight infectious disease outbreaks and make vaccine recommendations, will also cut 2,400 employees. “Infectious diseases do not occur in a vacuum, and factors including pre-existing chronic diseases play critical roles in understanding and controlling infectious diseases.” The CDC, Frieden said, has been the “flagship of public health for generations” as it pursued its “core mission of saving lives and protecting people from health threats of all kinds.” “No other part of the federal government has the depth and breadth tracking, understanding and supporting communities and providers to stop our leading killers,” Frieden said. “CDC has contributed to saving millions of lives — not just from infectious diseases but also from cancer, heart attack, stroke and other leading causes of death of Americans; better road safety; and prevention of injury and drug overdose.” The National Institutes of Health, the primary federal government agency for conducting and supporting medical research, will cut 1,200 employees. “This isn’t a good time to cut the organization that’s at the front line of fighting it.” The new Administration for a Healthy America — which according to a fact sheet will “more efficiently coordinate chronic care and disease prevention programs and harmonize health resources to low-income Americans” — will have multiple divisions including, Primary Care, Maternal and Child Health, Mental Health, Environmental Health, HIV/AIDS, and Workforce.