Mass CDC Firings, Confusion Will Cost Lives; Congress Must Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Mass firings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, happening with no transparency and creating much confusion over the weekend, threaten the health of everyone in the U.S. and will lead to needless, preventable deaths, public health experts with Defend Public Health said today, urging Congress to act immediately. 

Although details of the firings weren’t officially confirmed when employees received termination notices on Friday, initial reports indicated that firings included staff at the Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC’s vitally important “disease detectives,” the entire staff of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, the key CDC publication that informs state and local health departments as well as the public about critical health issues, and a variety of other departments, including the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, among others. On Saturday, a new wave of reports indicated that some of the firings, but not all, had been made in error and were being reversed, reportedly including the MMWR staff and at least a portion of EIS employees. At least some were reportedly attributed to a coding error. These firings come on top of previous staff reductions at CDC and political interference in CDC’s work that led to the resignation of highly experienced and talented CDC leadership.

“These firings are an assault on the health and lives of every person in the U.S.,” said epidemiologist and Defend Public Health Coordinating Committee member Gregg Gonsalves. “Did they really not know they were firing the people tracking Ebola? Did they not care enough to find out who they were firing and what they did before sending termination letters? The carelessness and callousness with which this administration handles life and death matters is unbelievable. The CDC was already decimated earlier this year, and those who were left behind work every day to protect us all. If these new firings aren’t all reversed, people are going to suffer and very likely some will die. Viruses and bacteria don’t care about where you live or what political party you belong to, and the administration’s reckless destruction threatens every one of us. Congress must move quickly to require that every single fired CDC employee be rehired as part of any deal to reopen the government.”

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Defend Public Health is an all-volunteer network of public health researchers, healthcare workers, advocates and allies fighting to protect the health of all from the Trump administration's cruel attacks on proven, science-based public health policies. We believe that everyone has the right to what they need for a healthy life, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.
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