By Dawn Attride for Sentient Climate.
Broadcast version by Edwin J. Viera for Connecticut News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration

Since President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration on Monday, public health officials have found themselves at a confusing — and potentially dangerous — standstill. On a global scale, the newly elected president has pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization (WHO), and now, has paused external communications for a number of government agencies. The move comes at a critical time for public health as human cases of bird flu have slowly increased, resulting in one death earlier this month, and a number of former public health officials have said the government is not testing enough for bird flu.

The sudden freeze means agencies like The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are unable to release communications such as scientific reports and health updates. Of particular concern: the pause has no concrete end date, which has left agency employees “confused” on its scope, according to The Washington Post.

Key Public Health Meetings and Research Canceled

Among the fallout is the cancellation of National Institute of Health (NIH) grant review panels, study sections and an indefinite ban on travel. “Asking for a pause on issuing new policy or regulations is reasonable while the new administration settles in, but a blanket freeze on all communications is unusual and could impair critical functions like outbreak response,” Sarah Sorscher, director of regulatory affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, tells Sentient.

These specific measures for health agencies are worrying researchers nationwide, who have taken to social media platforms to air their experiences and frustrations. “All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities,” writes Prof. Jane M. Liebschutz on BlueSky.

“Above and beyond the immediate fear and confusion that this freeze and communication blackout has caused, the longstanding implications will largely be determined by how long this situation lasts (I’ve seen insider estimates of February 1) and what is removed from NIH during the freeze,” Daniel P. Moriarity, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, writes to Sentient in an email. Interruption of NIH funding, for example, “could have direct consequences on the availability of physicians and clinicians to provide health care,” he writes.

While it’s unclear how long this freeze will last, the 2025 presidential advisory meeting on combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria scheduled for January 28 and 29 has been canceled, indicating the pause could continue for quite some time.

How Will the ‘Pause’ Affect Public Health Warnings?

It appears the freeze is already delaying CDC publications, such as their main weekly report that provides the public with timely health advice and research. This week’s iteration — scheduled for earlier this week –– has not yet been published and was supposed to include new studies and data on the ongoing H5N1 avian influenza virus outbreak. This is not the first time these CDC reports have been affected by the Trump administration — in 2020, officials at the HHS tried to “change, delay and prevent” such reports, particularly those related to COVID-19.

There is also ambiguity as to the breadth of the communications covered, according to a Center for Science in the Public Interest statement, which could hinder agency coordination during an outbreak of foodborne illness. 

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tells Sentient that a pause on communications and public appearances are “not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health.” They also said, “This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization. There are exceptions for announcements that HHS divisions believe are mission critical, but they will be made on a case-by-case basis.” A representative for the CDC declined to comment.

Halting Agency Coordination Could Exacerbate Bird Flu Outbreaks

The shutdown of external agency communications and delayed report from the CDC on key bird flu updates comes at a critical time for vital health messaging between federal agencies and the public, considering the current outbreaks. 

Avian flu has been circulating on factory farms, where the virus can spread through direct contact between workers and animals or droppings between infected (usually wild) birds and farm animals. The close-quarter conditions of factory farms makes them particularly susceptible to outbreaks, requiring stringent biosecurity protocols to stop the spread. Although rare, humans can get bird flu by coming into contact with infected animals, which is why dairy workers are largely affected by the current H5N1 strain, which has infected cow herds in 16 states, mainly California. So far, 67 humans have been sickened and one person has died from bird flu in the U.S.

At present, the current strain of avian flu cannot spread human-to-human, but this may change if the virus mutates, which is why epidemiologists rely on accurate data from agencies like the CDC to track the spread. Another cause for concern is raw milk, which has been found to contain the virus but so far has only infected animals who consumed it.

As the pause only came into effect Tuesday, it remains to be seen how long this directive among federal health agencies will continue to hinder key reports, research and public health information.


Dawn Attride wrote this article for Sentient.


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To pay for the priorities of President Donald Trump's administration, like mass deportations and tax cuts, Republicans in Congress are considering cuts to a host of programs supporting people living paycheck to paycheck.

Potential cuts include $880 billion to Medicaid over the next decade.

Adam Fox, deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, said 1.2 million Coloradans rely on Medicaid, including pregnant mothers, people with disabilities, working families and nearly six in 10 people in nursing facilities.

"It provides coverage to so many in our communities, it is really the foundational block in our health care and health coverage systems," Fox pointed out. "If Medicaid gets cut, it puts the entire health care system at risk."

Republicans have said cuts to Medicaid could be made without reducing benefits by overhauling and improving the program, which, according to analysis by Reuters, serves 35 million Americans in states President Donald Trump won in the 2024 election. In a recent survey, seven in 10 Trump voters said cutting Medicaid is unacceptable.

Colorado faces a $1.2 billion budget deficit, largely due to the state's tax code under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR. Fox acknowledged in many ways, the state's hands will be tied if Congress cuts Medicaid funding.

"Colorado cannot raise revenue, because of TABOR, to make up the difference," Fox noted. "Any cuts at the federal level will mean that Colorado has to reduce benefits, or strip people of coverage."

America's for-profit health system costs more than twice as much as other wealthy nations per capita. Fox argued what is needed is a health system covering every American and controlling costs. Compared to all other current health programs, Fox stressed Medicaid is the most efficient at meeting those goals.

"What we probably should be focusing on is really expanding Medicaid to everyone -- who is not eligible for Medicare, at least -- rather than cutting the program," Fox urged.

Wildfires are creeping closer and closer to health care facilities in California, including hospitals and nursing homes, according to a new study.

Researchers with the nonprofit Direct Relief looked at 23 years worth of data and found the distance between wildfire and the facilities is decreasing by an average of 628 feet per year.

Andrew Schroeder, vice president for research and analysis at Direct Relief and the study's coauthor, said they are seeing a steady pattern of increasing proximity.

"That raises a lot of policy issues," Schroeder pointed out. "A lot of pragmatic issues about how we operate the health care system in California, how we choose to locate health facilities and what it means to operate a truly resilient health care system."

The data also show the number of inpatient beds and acute care facilities within five miles of a wildfire zone is increasing, as development increases on and near dry hillsides in the urban-wildland interface.

Neil Singh Bedi, research scientist with CrisisReady, a collaboration between Direct Relief and the Harvard Data Science Initiative, said long-term care facilities like nursing homes are most vulnerable.

"This might mean that we need to invest more resources for those facilities to be able to evacuate more safely," Singh Bedi suggested. "Or better filtration systems, if wildfires are going to be closer to those facilities."

The Direct Relief report is the second in a three-part series. The first examined the medical implications of the state's power outages on people who rely on electricity to run lifesaving machines and refrigerate medicines. The next report will look at how medically vulnerable people in Mariposa County communicate during wildfire emergencies.

Rural communities in Missouri are bracing for a tough reality as they plan ahead for the possibility of federal cuts to programs such as Medicaid.

The poverty rate in rural Missouri stands at more than 16%, compared with a little more than 11% in urban regions of the state.

Bryan Stallings, co-founder and CEO of the rural charity Elevate Branson, said they don't get their resources directly from federal funding, but primarily from donations. However, he warned that his nonprofit will feel the ripple effects of these cuts as donors who are directly impacted will be forced to give less.

"You end up having to reduce staff - and with these cuts, you're going to see the demand go up," he said. "So, here you're going to have this big gap in staffing to be able to serve the increased need."

In Missouri, one in five children faces hunger, and in Branson, the poverty rate tops 22%. Stallings said his nonprofit serves 4,000 to 5,000 people each year.

Support includes Medicaid-funded mental-health counseling, food, clothing, housing and even assistance with obtaining birth certificates or Social Security cards. Stallings noted that transportation is a major barrier for rural residents seeking these types of services - and when one-stop charities such as his lose resources, the entire community feels the impact.

"Rural communities have very little resources for transportation," he said, "which means individuals who are in that underserved population, they really need to be able to access services all in one location."

He said the local economy in Taney County is affected by Branson being a tourist destination, with a high number of residents who work in low-wage, service-industry jobs. The county's median income is about 17% less than that of the state as a whole.


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