#Congress created the #Vaccines for #Children program in 1993 after a US #measles #epidemic had killed dozens of children a few years earlier. The #CDC found
that >50% of the children who got measles then were unvaccinated. The #cost of the #immunization was a primary reason families had skipped the shot even though they were seeing doctors regularly….

Dr. Sugerman, a snr scientist leading #CDC’s #measles response, highlighted #COVID-19 #funding cuts before a fed advisory panel: “We are scraping to find the resources & personnel needed to provide support to #Texas, & other jurisdictions.”

#Health Secy #RFKJr has overseen the huge reductions in force & budget after casting doubt on #vaccines for decades. In the current measles #outbreak, he is promoting unproven treatments while giving a tepid endorsement of the measles, #mumps & #rubella vax.

The #CDC employees who staff the #children’s #vaccine program were *largely* untouched, 3 sources familiar w/the situation said.
However, about 20 others were fired who comprised a unit that helped promote the program in #communities at high risk of #InfectiousDisease, including during the current #measles #outbreak, these sources said. These employees helped bolster the confidence in the safety & effectiveness of #vaccines, they said.

But ongoing cuts in federal #health #funding & personnel jeopardize the effectiveness of this longstanding program that’s become a key cog in #America’s #disease-fighting machinery, acc/to disease experts & fmr #CDC officials.

The #Trump admin recently fired ~10k employees at #HHS, including significant reductions at CDC that are part of a massive *downsizing* of the federal workforce. HHS said another 10k left *voluntarily*.

The #Vaccines for #Children program funds #vaccine purchases from drug manufacturers including Merck & GlaxoSmithKline at a discount, while state #health departments implement the program & enroll #medical providers. A dose of MMR vaccine costs about $26 under the program compared to $95 in the private sector, acc/to #CDC price list.

2 days after the lab's scientists received their reduction in force emails, #HHS Secy #RFKJr acknowledged that ~⅕ of the cuts at HHS were made *unintentionally* & some people would be offered their jobs back.
On April 4, the Assn of #PublicHealth Laboratories sent a letter to RFKJr urging HHS to reinstate all personnel in the Division of #Viral #Hepatitis & at the Division of #STD Prevention, another lab at the #CDC that was shuttered.

…Although 4 new samples have already arrived at the lab & 3 more were waiting in #Florida to be sent, none have been tested by the #CDC. Epidemiologists still at the CDC have been trying to find another place that can do the tests but have been unsuccessful….

…w/o the CDC's scientists to test the genetic material, it will be harder for epidemiologists to confirm whether people w/ #hepatitis C were infected in the same doctor's office or somewhere else where the #virus could still be spreading….

The email said their duties were "identified as either unnecessary or virtually identical to duties being performed elsewhere in the agency." But the #genetic #tracing that the #CDC's lab performs is not conducted by any lab in the #UnitedStates or the #world….

While it remains shuttered, ongoing investigations of current #hepatitis #outbreaks have been stalled, not just in #Florida, but also in #Oregon, #Pennsylvania, #Massachusetts, #NewMexico, #Wisconsin, #WestVirginia & #Georgia….

But on April 1, the #outbreak investigation was brought to a halt. All 27 of the lab's scientists received an email from the #HHS informing them that they were losing their #jobs. Like thousands of other employees who received similar emails that day, the scientists were told they would be placed on administrative leave until June 2, after which they would no longer work for the #CDC.

The scientists at the lab knew what they were doing. Quickly, they analyzed the blood from #Florida using their custom software & found that 9 cases were genetically linked to the same pain clinic, where it was later discovered that a doctor was improperly reusing injection vials. By March, ofcls in FL had restricted the doctor's #medical license to limit the spread of the #virus & packaged new patient samples to send to the #CDC for testing…

The #hepatitis C #virus, which is spread through contact w/infected blood & can lead to #deadly liver #cancer, is notoriously hard to identify. But if anyone could understand what was #happening in FL, it would be the Division of #ViralHepatitis in the #CDC's HQ.
Using samples from the lab's collection of nearly 1M frozen specimens, scientists helped make the initial discovery of the #HepatitisC virus in the 1980s. In 2020, that #research was awarded the #NobelPrize in #Medicine.
#Trump #science