Trump’s public health gag order is causing doctors to panic

Donald Trump’s gag order on the country’s health agencies has set off panic among public health officials and researchers.

After Trump was sworn in Monday, his administration ordered federal health agencies to cease all public-facing communication, causing public health officials to fear that they won’t be able to inform the public of viral or foodborne illness outbreaks, and that they will lose funding for everything from cancer treatments to vaccine development.

Officials at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are particularly concerned about the current bird flu outbreak, which has led to a 37% increase in the price of eggs from the same time last year. The bird flu poses a risk to the public, especially if the virus becomes transmissible between humans. 

Similarly, doctors, scientists, and drug researchers reported that the government is canceling medical conferences and grant review panels, which could mean that they’ll lose progress on cancer research to vaccine development.

As STAT News reported:

Several meetings of National Institutes of Health study sections, which review applications for fellowships and grants, were canceled without being rescheduled, according to agency notices reviewed by STAT. A Feb. 20-21 meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, a panel that advises the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services on vaccine policy, was also canceled. So was a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria that was scheduled for Jan. 28 and 29.

… 

“Peer review via study sections is required by law in order for the NIH to disburse most of the $40 billion annual extramural budget,” said Norman E. Sharpless, a former director of the National Cancer Institute, part of the NIH. “If study sections and advisory council meetings are postponed for more than even a brief period, this will likely lead to interruptions in grant funding, which is bad for U.S. biomedical research.”

According to a document obtained by Science magazine, the gag order will end on Feb. 1. But it’s unclear how much freedom health agencies will have to communicate with the public when it’s lifted, or whether the National Institutes of Health will continue to be able to fund drug and vaccine development.

That’s because Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is an anti-science, anti-vaccine whack job who has promoted the unsafe consumption of raw milk and disproven COVID-19 cures. 

ProPublica reported that Kennedy wants to shift research away from infectious diseases and vaccines and has said that the NIH should focus half of its budget on “preventive, alternative and holistic approaches to health.”

More than 17,000 doctors sent a letter to the Senate, which has yet to vote on Kennedy’s confirmation, warning that he is dangerous and should be rejected.

“This appointment is an affront to the principles of public health, the tireless dedication of medical professionals, and the trust that millions of Americans place in the health care system,” the letter said. “RFK Jr. has a well-documented history of spreading dangerous disinformation on vaccines and public health interventions, leaving vulnerable communities unprotected and placing millions of lives at risk. His appointment is a direct threat to the safety of our patients and the public at large.”

Unless four Republicans flip their votes against Kennedy, he is likely to be confirmed.

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