Trump limits the target generation of scientists and public health leaders

Notifications appeared throughout the weekend, landing in the inboxes of federal scientists, doctors and public health specialists: your work is no longer needed.

At the National Institutes of Health, the most significant national biomedical research agency, about 1,200 employees – including promising youthful investigators who have larger roles – has been rejected.

Two prestigious training programs have been gutted at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention: one that deposits recent public health graduates in local health departments, and the other to cultivate the next generation of the doctor. Laboratory scientists. But the intelligence service of the agency’s epidemic – “detectives of the disease” who follow epidemics around the world – was apparently saved, perhaps because of the turmoil among graduates after most of its members were informed on Friday that they would be released.

President Trump’s plan on reducing the size of the federal workforce has given thousands of officials to blows over the past few days. But cuts in the Health and Social Welfare Department – Coronavirus’s pandemic pandemic on the heels, the worst crisis of public health from age – were particularly shocking. Experts say that dismissals are threatened to leave the country exposed to further shortages of healthcare workers, exposing the Americans to risk if another crisis breaks out.

For example, public health officials followed the deadly strain of influenza birds, which they think remains low risk to Americans. However, in recent weeks he won his first victim in the United States – a patient in Louisiana, who was exposed to a herd of the yard.

“This was not canceled,” Elon Musk, a billionaire responsible for the reduction, wrote in social media in response to the explosion on the alleged dismantling of the Epidemia intelligence service.

Exletions also cut out the next generation of leaders in CDC, NIH, Food and Drug Administration and other agencies that the department oversees.

“This seems to be a very destructive strategy for releasing novel talent in the agency and promoted talent,” said Dr. David Fleming, chairman of the advisory committee of the director of CDC. He added: “A lot of energy and time were devoted to recruitment of these people, and now they have been throwing a window.”

E-mails with forms informed the recipients that “they are not suitable for further employment” because their “ability, knowledge and skills do not match the needs of the agency”, and “performance was not appropriate.”

On Monday, eight officials who managed health agencies under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. – including the bosses of CDC, Nih and FDA – issued a joint statement condemning cuts. He mentioned a number of initiatives, from combating opioid epidemic to the transfer of basic healthcare in rural communities, which are “necessary for the economic security of our nation” and are carried out by officials.

“These people are not numbers in a spreadsheet,” they wrote, adding: “We owe them a debt of gratitude, not a pink slip.”

The exemptions were also shocked by doctoral students observing his career in public health and biomedical sciences.

“Just this morning I lectured to 42 graduates, whose whole future is not clear at the moment,” said Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Research and Policy of Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota. “Will they have a job? Will there be public health in the future? “

A spokesman for the Health and Social Welfare Department said that he was following the administrative guidelines and “taking action to support the president’s wider efforts to restructure and improve the federal government.”

“This is to ensure that HHS is better supported by the American people in the highest and most capable standard,” said spokesman Andrew Nixon We -mail on Friday.

As in the case of the rest of the government, the cuts are directed to test workers with less than a year at work. But the cuts appear when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the outstanding skeptic of the vaccine and the newly confirmed health secretary, begins his work. Nih officials are particularly concerned that they can address more older employees, asking for their resignation.

Mr. Kennedy repeated many times that he intends to pristine the house in various federal agencies. He warned that he would limit 600 jobs at health institutes. In October, after merging the presidential campaign with Mr. Trump, he Instructed FDA officials “Keep your records” and “pack your bags”.

About 700 employees were cut in FDA, including lawyers, doctors and reviewers at a doctor’s level in a medical device, tobacco, food and medicines.

Cuttings at the weekend affected all healthcare professionals. These are not only scientists and hunters of diseases, but also administrators who supervise subsidies, analysts are considering reducing health care costs and computer specialists who are trying to improve archaic government systems to track health information.

Arielle Kane was employed in May to work on a novel project, which was aimed at improving his mother’s health results in Medicaid. On Friday there was a certain manager that her work at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is sheltered. On Saturday afternoon she received e -mail that she was released due to indigent performance.

“I was so excited about working on my mother’s health and medicaid,” said Kane. “I finally got a job I wanted, I just had a good performance review, and then so unceremoniously released for indigent performance.”

According to three people familiar with the Laboratory Leadership Service, the prestigious training scholarship in CDC was heavily hit. Of the 24 four scholarship holders, they were protected because they are in the commissioned corps of the American public health service, a uniformed department that members work throughout the government. The remaining 20 were released.

The program, initiated in 2015, in response to fears regarding quality and safety in laboratories, is a sister program for the more apparent intelligence service of an epidemic or EIS, which was developed to strengthen the bond between epidemiologists and laboratory scientists. Candidates must have a doctorate. In microbiology, organic chemistry or other discipline related to the laboratory.

Some companions are allocated to state and local public health laboratories. Others work at CDC in Atlanta. During an epidemic, such as Coronavirus pandemic, they are sent to the field with EIS officers.

“EIS has such a powerful culture and graduates; The answer is: “Thank God Eis was spared,” said Dr. Michael Iademarco, who helped create laboratory leadership services when he was on CDC “and my answer will be:” Yes, but we just killed the promising half of the investigation in the field, because nobody about it knows. “

The agency also lost it Presidential managementwho were assigned to CDC as part of a ten -year government initiative, which is described as “the most significant leadership development program for diploma holders in all academic disciplines.”

Health Agency veterans said that they were worried about the seemingly accidental nature of cuts.

“If there is a need to reduce the budget, this happens at all government levels, but there should be a thoughtful approach,” said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, former deputy commissioner of the FDA, added: “For some of them some of them roles, there is a very specialized knowledge . “

Dr. Fleming, a former deputy director of CDC, said that many health care workers can earn more in the private sector, but they will decide to join the government because they attract public service. He said that the solutions would make it hard to attract novel talents.

“We cut off the hand to find out about the face,” he said.

Christina JewettIN Roni Caryn Rabin AND Sarah Kiff reporting brought.