Trump Tells Federal Health Agencies to Pause Communication

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s administration told federal health agencies to pause external communications, including regular scientific reports, updates to websites, and health advisories, The Washington Post reported. Silencing instructions were delivered to the Department of Health and Human Services, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration.

The agencies make decisions that affect Americans and are the source of crucial information to health-care providers. For example, the pause on communication includes the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), advisories sent out to clinicians on CDC’s health alert network about public health incidents, and data updates to the CDC website, The Washington Post reported. This week alone the CDC was scheduled to release several MMWR reports, including three about bird flu, the news agency said.

Health officials weren’t clear if ceasing external communications included urgent communications, such as foodborne disease outbreaks, new bird flu cases, and drug approvals. Sources also weren’t sure how long the break in communication would last.