This is a developing story.
The Trump administration has ordered federal health agencies to halt external communications — including health advisories and ongoing scientific updates — until at least Feb. 1, according to multiple national media outlets and health organizations.
The orders issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also apply to the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the story.
“It was not clear from the new administration’s guidance whether the directive will affect more urgent communications, such as foodborne disease outbreaks, drug approvals and new bird flu cases,” the Post reported.
A follow-up memo to federal agency health employees by Acting Health Secretary Dorothy Fink obtained Wednesday by CNN states the directive will be in effect until Feb. 1, and that all future forms of communications and public appearances be approved first by a presidential appointee.
“As the new Administration considers its plan for managing the federal policy and public communications processes, it is important that the President’s appointees and designees have the opportunity to review and approve any regulations, guidance documents, and other public documents and communications (including social media),” the memo states.
The CNN report, quoting officials familiar with the directive, noted “it wasn’t entirely unheard of for an incoming administration to ask for a pause to review information before it’s publicly released, the scope of the order appeared to be unusual” and “there were no similar restrictions on communications issued at the beginning of the last two administrations.”
Erin Hardin, a spokesperson at Bartlett Regional Hospital, stated in an email Wednesday “a temporary pause would have little impact on us directly.”
“Our closest counterpart for health information is the State Department of Health,” she wrote.
The federal pause should also not affect data from the state, according to Alex Huseman, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health.
“We are aware of the pause of communications from our federal partners, but this does not impact our state public health communications,” she wrote in an email Wednesday. “We are continuing to provide the public with needed health information on our website, social media accounts, and press releases as necessary.”
However, state and city health officials rely on CDC notices to make decisions for their communities, such as when to ramp up flu testing or which disease symptoms to keep an eye out for, Chrissie Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, told The New York Times. The newspaper also reported the ban includes upcoming reports focusing on the nation’s escalating bird flu crisis that has affected more than 35 million wild and commercial birds, resulting in soaring egg prices.
A measles warning issued Friday by the City and Borough of Juneau, due to a passenger taking a flight from Seattle to Anchorage after being at the Seattle airport for several hours, originated with a notice posted by the King Country Department of Health. However, the Washington Post reported the CDC was scheduled to publish several reports this week including three about an H5N1 avian influenza virus outbreak.
Trump during his first term imposed restrictions on reporting of COVID-19 data and related information during the onset of the pandemic, and has continued to cast doubt on information provided by agencies. His pick to head the federal Department of Health and Human Services is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who likewise has expressed widespread criticism about federal health agencies and their leaders, as well as vaccination and other policies.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
