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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
These closures are part of a plan to cut 20,000 positions at HHS.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to fire the entire staff of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy, CBS News reports.
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Multiple employees told CBS they expected to receive notices Friday or over the weekend. The Office of Minority Health is also set to be dissolved. These closures are part of a plan to cut 20,000 positions at HHS.
The Office of Infectious Disease has promoted vaccines, something Kennedy is notably against. It has handled the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. program, started by Donald Trump in his first term, as well. It’s unknown if this program will continue under another HHS office.
Kennedy's plan will "effectively shutter or downsize a number of divisions under the HHS umbrella, including virtually eliminating some offices tasked with tackling HIV and improving minority health," NBC News notes.
Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, issued this statement:
“Today the Trump administration continued its decimation of our nation’s response not only to HIV, but to hepatitis and STIs. While we wait to learn specifics on how many staff who support CDC’s HIV and hepatitis prevention programs will be eliminated, all staff at the government’s central coordinating office which develops strategic plans, coordinates agency actions, collects and communicates vital data, administers the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, and oversees the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, have been fired.
“I guess we should have taken Secretary Kennedy at his word when he said we need to take a break from infectious diseases. But our nation cannot afford to take a break from infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. It will lead to increased infections and medical costs down the road. This was not done to increase government efficiency but was a blatant attack on specific communities and populations. With all of these cuts, how are we going to, as Secretary Kennedy repeatedly says, ‘Make America Healthy Again’?”
“President Trump still has the opportunity to reverse these decisions. During his first term he started the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, which has been successful in reducing HIV nationwide. We hope that during his second term he will not want to go down in history as the President who was responsible for the resurgence of HIV in the United States.”
On the cuts overall, Kennedy said Thursday, "This will be a painful period for HHS as we downsize from 82,000 employees to 62,000, but we are keenly focused on paring away excess administrators while increasing the number of scientists and frontline health providers so we can do a better job for the American people," as reported by Fierce Healthcare.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, released a statement Thursday, condemning the cuts: "American families are going to be hurt by layoffs and closures of this magnitude, full stop. These offices work closely with communities to make sure child care, hospitals and nursing homes are safe, strengthen rural health care, and much more. The chaos that is coming will guarantee that kids and seniors fall through the cracks with deadly consequences.”
So did former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, according to Fierce Healthcare. "It's hard to make sense of the HHS cuts announced this morning," he said. "This has the makings of a manmade disaster."
