President Donald Trump's administration has directed all federal health agencies to pause external communications, including health advisories and reports.
Staff at agencies inside the Department of Health and Human Services, including officials at the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health, received the order Tuesday, according to the Washington Post. The guidance given by the Trump administration was not clear on whether the directive would affect more urgent communications, such as foodborne disease outbreaks, drug approvals, and new bird flu cases.
"A temporary pause in the flow of health information should not be cause for concern," Dr. Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, a nonprofit organization that studies and seeks to support the nation's public health workforce, told CNN.
"The question is how extensively is that pause enforced? If there is something that requires immediate action, it needs to be communicated because lapsed time means lost lives," Castrucci added.
Stefanie Spear, a deputy chief of staff at HHS who joined the agency this week, gave the order. She most recently worked as the press secretary for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his 2024 presidential campaign. Kennedy is Trump's pick to lead the agency, but awaits Senate hearings and a confirmation vote before assuming the role.
Health information is routinely released on agencies' websites. This includes information regarding food recalls, drug approvals, and updates on emerging public health threats.
Many agencies in the U.S. in recent weeks have been tracking the H5N1 bird flu outbreak, which has been increasingly spreading across the country to commercial poultry and dairy plants and those who work with animals. Last week, Georgia shut down all of the state's poultry farms after the state documented the first case of bird flu at a commercial operation. The first human death of bird flu was recorded in Louisiana earlier this month.
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The CDC was scheduled to publish several MMWR reports this week, including three about the bird flu outbreak, according to the Washington Post.
The Trump administration and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.