No News is Good News?

H5N1 information will likely be harder to come by, at least temporarily

Trump officials pause health agencies’ communications, citing review - The Washington Post

By Lena H. Sun Dan Diamond Rachel Roubein

The Trump administration has instructed federal health agencies to pause all external communications, such as health advisories, weekly scientific reports, updates to websites and social media posts, according to nearly a dozen current and former officials and other people familiar with the matter.

The instructions were delivered Tuesday to staff at agencies inside the Department of Health and Human Services, including officials at the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, one day after the new administration took office, according to the people with knowledge, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. Some people familiar with the matter acknowledged that they expected some review during a presidential transition but said they were confused by the pause’s scope and indeterminate length.

The health agencies are charged with making decisions that touch the lives of every American and are the source of crucial information to health-care providers and organizations across the country.

The pause on communications includes scientific reports issued by the CDC, known as the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR); advisories sent out to clinicians on CDC’s health alert network about public health incidents; data updates to the CDC website; and public health data releases from the National Center for Health Statistics, which tracks myriad health trends, including drug overdose deaths.

The CDC was scheduled to publish several MMWR reports this week, including three about the H5N1 avian influenza virus outbreak, according to one federal health official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.

It was not clear from the guidance given by the new administration whether the directive will affect more urgent communications, such as foodborne disease outbreaks, drug approvals and new bird flu cases.

Stefanie Spear, an HHS deputy chief of staff, instructed agency staff Tuesday morning to pause external communications, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Spear, who joined HHS this week, is a longtime ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency.

Spear did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HHS did not respond to a request for comment. An FDA spokesperson declined to comment and referred questions to HHS. A CDC spokesperson referred questions to HHS.

Several health officials said they are wary of any messaging halt after the first Trump administration pushed to tightly control the agencies’ communications during the coronavirus response in 2020. Trump political officials that year sought to change the CDC’s reports to better align with Trump’s own messages.

Two others suggested the move is aimed at helping the newly installed Trump health officials understand the vast flow of information coming out of the health agencies. The pause, according to one official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal agency conversations, “seemed more about letting them catch their breath and know what is going on with regard to” communications.

If the communications pause lasts more than a week or two, it could become concerning, that official said, noting that under the Biden administration, White House and HHS officials extensively reviewed material related to the coronavirus before it was released.

Another official said the Trump administration may need time to set up systems and the request for a pause is more a reflection of a poorly executed transition process.

“We have tried to assume good intentions here, and that they’re just disorganized,” said one federal health official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of antagonizing the new team.

At the beginning of Trump’s first term, administration officials also asked employees at multiple agencies to cease communicating with the public, The Washington Post reported at the time. The limits appeared focused on agencies overseeing environmental and scientific policy, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Agriculture and Interior departments.

This news release “pause” applies to HHS units; we’ll see what applies at USDA.