Health
C.D.C. Cuts Threaten to Set Back the Nation’s Health, Critics Say
The extensive layoffs of federal health workers that began on Tuesday will greatly curtail the scope and influence of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the world’s premier public health agency, an outcome long sought by conservatives critical of its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services shrinks the C.D.C. by 2,400 employees, or roughly 18 percent of its work force, and strips away some of its core functions.
Some Democrats in Congress described the reorganization throughout H.H.S. as flatly illegal.
“You cannot decimate and restructure H.H.S. without Congress,” said Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, and a member of the Senate health committee.
“This is not only unlawful but seriously harmful — they are putting Americans’ health and well-being on the line,” she added.
Ms. Murray noted that the Trump administration had not detailed which units are being cut at the C.D.C. and other health agencies. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, said last week the layoffs would affect primarily administrative functions.
But according to information gathered by The New York Times from dozens of workers, the reductions were more broadly targeted. Scientists focused on environmental health and asthma, injuries, lead poisoning, smoking and climate change were dismissed.
Researchers studying blood disorders, violence prevention and access to vaccines were let go. The agency’s center on H.I.V. and sexually transmitted diseases was among the hardest hit, losing about 27 percent of its staff.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which makes recommendations on how to keep workers safe, was all but dissolved.
What remains is a hobbled C.D.C., with a smaller global footprint, devoting fewer resources to environmental health, occupational health and disease prevention, public health experts said.
Instead, the agency will be trained more narrowly on domestic disease outbreaks. Communications will be centralized at H.H.S. in Washington.
The department intends “to ensure a more coordinated and effective response to public health challenges, ultimately benefiting the American taxpayer,” said Emily Hilliard, deputy press secretary at the department.
“C.D.C. scientists have conducted numerous interviews on a variety of topics and will continue to do so,” she added.
Critics predicted the move would prevent scientists from speaking frankly about public health.
“American taxpayers provide the resources for C.D.C.’s specialists and have the right to hear directly from them without interference by politicians,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, who led the agency from 2009 to 2017.
The sweeping reductions arrive as the nation confronts an outbreak of measles in Texas and elsewhere, a spreading bird flu epidemic on poultry and dairy farms, and a raft of new questions about public health measures like water fluoridation and school vaccine requirements.
“What we seem to be seeing is a dismantling rather than a restructuring” of the public health system, said Dr. Richard Besser, chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the C.D.C.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate health committee, which recommended confirmation of Mr. Kennedy as secretary, scheduled a hearing on the reorganization of H.H.S., citing the possible impacts on public health.
Mr. Kennedy has described the reorganization as an effort to clean up waste and bureaucracy while promising that federal health agencies would do more to improve the health of Americans.
“We’re going to eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments and agencies while preserving their core functions by merging them into a new organization called the Administration for a Healthy America,” the secretary said in a videotaped message announcing the layoffs.
The department did not respond to requests for more detailed information.
Society’s most vulnerable — the poor, Black, Latino and Native American people, rural Americans with less access to health care, the disabled and those at highest risk for illness — are likely to be hit hardest, experts said.
“These communities rely on public health to a larger extent than wealthy communities do,” Dr. Besser said.
For decades, public health and medical research drew support across the political spectrum.
But the C.D.C. has been in the political cross hairs since the first Trump administration, when the White House muzzled the agency’s communications, meddled with its publications and blamed its scientists for bungling the pandemic response.
In recent years, lawmakers have harshly criticized the agency’s advice on masks, lockdowns, social distancing, school closures and various other attempts to contain the pandemic, calling them economically and socially disastrous.
Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for reshaping the federal government, described the C.D.C. as “perhaps the most incompetent and arrogant” federal agency, and called on Congress to curb its powers.
Through staffing cuts, the administration reduced critical divisions of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, and employees studying how to prevent gun violence, child abuse and elder abuse were fired.
Injuries are the leading cause of death among Americans under 45. About 47,000 Americans are killed by firearms each year, more than half of them suicides.
But gun violence is a politically fraught topic. Pressure from the National Rifle Association and conservative politicians led to a ban on using federal funds to study gun violence for almost 25 years. Funding was restored in 2019.
The injury center studied ways to improve gun safety and promoted the use of gun locks, particularly in homes where children live.
“People think of gun violence as a question for law enforcement, but the public health approach has made a big difference,” said Dr. Mark Rosenberg, a former center director.
Most of the C.D.C.’s Division of Reproductive Health, which studies maternal health, was also shuttered. Whether some or all of its portfolio will be assumed by the new organization created by Mr. Kennedy was not clear.
Pregnant women and newborns die in the United States at a far higher rate than in other industrialized nations.
In recent years, the C.D.C. focused on stark racial health disparities that put Black American women at nearly three times the risk of dying of pregnancy complications than white women.
But the Trump administration has been defunding studies of health disparities in racial, ethnic and gender minorities, saying they do not align with the president’s executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Mr. Kennedy said last week that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries and illnesses, would be absorbed into the health department.
But on Tuesday, most of its divisions were eliminated, among them offices dedicated to protecting workers in various industries, including mine inspectors.
Even one of the agency’s most essential functions, infectious disease research, was affected.
The Trump administration had been weighing moving the H.I.V. prevention division to a different agency within the health department.
But on Tuesday, teams leading H.I.V. surveillance and research within that division were laid off. It was unclear whether some of those functions would be recreated elsewhere. (A team in the global health center working on preventing mother-to-child transmission of H.I.V. was also cut.)
Until now, the C.D.C. provided funds to states and territories for responding to and preventing H.I.V. outbreaks. Roughly one in four new diagnoses of H.I.V. is made with agency funds.
Some H.I.V. experts warned that the move could lead to a rise in H.I.V. infections among Americans.
“H.I.V. prevention is a lot more than just giving out condoms,” said Dr. John Brooks, who served as chief medical officer for the division of H.I.V. prevention until last year. “It saves lives, averts illness and produces enormous cost savings.”
Broadly, the reorganization aligns with Mr. Kennedy’s preferred emphasis on research into chronic diseases; federal research has been far too focused on infectious diseases, he has said.
But the line between them is not always clear, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, former principal deputy director of the C.D.C. Research that seems disconnected from outbreak response may also be a key for fighting pathogens.
“For Zika, we needed experts in birth defects, entomology and vector control, virologists and environmental health experts,” she said. “Emerging threats don’t respect borders of C.D.C. organizational units.”
The reorganization risks choking the talent pipeline for public health, said Ursula Bauer, former director of the agency’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
“Once you decimate an agency like C.D.C., which is full of high-caliber highly trained individuals, building back is going to be incredibly difficult,” she said.
“It will take two to three times as long to undo the damage as it took to inflict it.”
The cuts also will take a toll on the agency’s ability to gather and analyze data, which are keys to identifying trends and developing interventions, Dr. Phil Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said at a news briefing.
“You take away those systems, and it takes away the ability to see the impact of all these cuts,” he added.
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Sticking to a resistance or strength training routine for a certain amount of time may extend your life, according to a new study.
Research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine analyzed whether workouts involving weightlifting and weight machines are linked to a lower risk of death over time.
The study followed more than 147,000 U.S. adults who participated in three large health studies spanning up to 30 years. More than 35,000 died during the study period.
THIS EXERCISE HABIT MAY SLASH DEMENTIA RISK AND HELP YOU LIVE LONGER, STUDY FINDS
Participants reported their exercise habits, including the number of minutes per week spent on resistance training and on aerobic activity, like walking, biking or swimming.
Resistance training levels were then compared with later death from any cause, as well as from cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease and neurological disease, according to a press release.
Doing a moderate amount of resistance training was linked with a lower risk of death in a recent study. (iStock)
Doing a moderate amount of resistance training was linked with a lower risk of death, according to study results. This outcome persisted even after researchers adjusted for other factors like age, smoking, diet quality, alcohol intake, family history and aerobic activity.
The clearest benefit was seen at around 90 to 119 minutes per week of resistance training.
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People who stuck to this interval of training per week had a 13% lower risk of all-cause death, 19% lower risk of death from heart disease and 27% lower risk of death from neurological disease.
More than 120 minutes of resistance training per week did not appear to add extra benefit to the overall death risk, according to the findings.
The clearest benefit was seen at around 90 to 119 minutes per week of resistance training. (iStock)
A lower risk of cancer death was seen at even small amounts of resistance training — 30 to 59 minutes per week was associated with a 12% decreased risk.
The lowest overall death risk was found in people who did both higher aerobic activity and moderate to high resistance training.
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The study shows only an association between resistance training and lower death risk, not a direct cause, the researchers noted.
Other limitations were that participants reported their own exercise habits, which may not have been completely accurate, and the study did not measure how intensely they exercised.
30 to 59 minutes per week of strength training was associated with a 12% decreased risk of cancer death.
The authors reflected in the study that engaging in “sufficient aerobic or resistance training alone is linked to lower mortality, with a stronger effect from aerobic activity.”
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The lowest risk was seen among people who did high levels of both aerobic exercise and resistance training. However, for people already doing a very high amount of aerobic exercise (roughly five to six hours of jogging or 11 hours of brisk walking per week), adding resistance training did not appear to lower the risk any further, they noted.
The lowest overall death risk was found in people who did both higher aerobic activity and moderate to high resistance training. (iStock)
In a previous interview with Fox News Digital, Kenny Santucci, fitness trainer, gym owner and host of the “Strong New York” podcast, shared the importance of pairing general movement with a focus on muscle building.
For a better fitness outcome, Santucci encourages gym-goers to add more strength training to their routines and to lift “a little bit heavier.”
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“Strength training should be the basis of what you do,” he said. “I don’t have anything against cycling … but if you’re telling me that’s the basis of your training, and your goal is aesthetics, then you are not really helping yourself get to that point any easier.”
“Hard doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better workout.”
Santucci recommends working at about 60% to 80% of capacity, pushing to a point of fatigue with moderate intensity.
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“There’s a science behind muscle growth, and if there’s no external force pushing against the muscle tissue, and you’re not fueling yourself with protein, then you’re probably not going to build muscle,” he said.
“Hard doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better workout … If you’re training at levels of intensity, then you’re reproducing good outcomes.”
Health
AI-designed ‘universal vaccine’ passes first human clinical trial, could prevent future pandemics
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A vaccine created using artificial intelligence that could potentially provide broader protection against multiple coronaviruses and help prepare for future outbreaks has passed its first human clinical trial.
Researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Southampton developed a “universal vaccine” designed to protect against multiple Sarbeco coronaviruses, which the university explained in a news release is “the large group of viruses that occur in nature, including SARS-CoV-2, which caused the COVID pandemic.”
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Traditional vaccines must constantly be updated as viruses mutate, and the process is “like a dog chasing its tail,” said University of Southampton professor Saul Faust, the trial’s chief investigator.
“Viruses like Influenza, coronaviruses and the Ebola group are evolving continuously, and by the time vaccines are rolled out, they may be poorly matched — the current ‘reactive’ vaccine system struggles to keep pace,” Faust said.
Researchers have developed a vaccine using AI that has proven to be promising in “future-proofing” people against mutating infections. (iStock)
An antigen is the active ingredient in a vaccine meant to trigger an immune-system response and fight off infection. According to the release, the university scientists logged all the available genetic sequence data for Sarbeco coronaviruses and used AI used to design a “super-antigen” that contains the antigen features “common to this whole group of viruses – including ones that haven’t emerged yet.”
The trial of the vaccine proved safe and triggered an immune response in 39 healthy volunteers, marking “the first time that a vaccine whose active component was designed entirely by computer simulations has been tested in humans,” the release said.
The trial vaccine was administered through a micro-fluid jet that delivers the immunization through the skin using a tiny, high-pressure stream of liquid and does not require a needle. The researchers said this method could make it “faster and easier to carry out in large numbers of people.”
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“This new class of universal vaccines are future-proofed,” Faust said. “They not only protect against many variants simultaneously, but potentially against related viruses that haven’t yet emerged and spilt over to humans. If we can develop and clinically advance this new class of vaccines before a virus outbreak begins, millions of lives could be saved, lockdowns avoided and the economy preserved.”
A new vaccine has been proven safe and capable of triggering immune responses against coronavirus in a limited human trial. (iStock)
Some experts have raised broad concerns about using AI in medicine, primarily when it comes to making clinical decisions, not developing vaccines. Certain groups of people may be underrepresented in the data AI relies on, resulting in biased outcomes, some said.
AI also sometimes produces erroneous information, called “hallucinations,” and determining who is liable for medical failings in such situations is a complex matter.
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Others have expressed concern over patient privacy, as well as the need for human judgment that takes into account the scope of a patient’s health history, rather than a single dataset.
While traditional vaccines are reactive, a new AI-designed vaccine aims to protect against future coronavirus threats. (iStock)
The universal-vaccine researchers said that a larger trial involving “a wider and more diverse population” is needed. They published their findings in Journal of Infection.
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Former professional wrestler and actor Tyler Mane announced he has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Known for his roles in “X-Men” and “Halloween,” Mane shared the news publicly to help raise awareness about a condition that is frequently overlooked in men.
“I have some bad news. I start chemo today,” Mane stated in a video posted to his social media channels. “One in 750 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and I’m one of them.”
CANCER SURVIVORS SAW MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS IN SLEEP AND WELL-BEING WITH ONE WEEKLY PRACTICE
Because breast cancer is predominantly associated with women, many men are unaware that they are also at risk. However, according to Mayo Clinic, everyone is born with a small amount of breast tissue.
While women go on to develop more of this tissue during puberty, the biological foundation for the disease exists in everyone.
Known for his roles in X-Men and Halloween, Mane shared the news publicly to help raise awareness about a condition that is frequently overlooked in men. (Bobby Bank/Getty Images)
The most common symptom of male breast cancer is a hard, painless lump located directly behind or near the nipple, according to experts. Other signs can include skin dimpling, nipple retraction or discharge.
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Male breast cancer is rare, accounting for less than 1% of all cases globally. Because routine screenings like mammograms are not standard practice for men, the disease is often caught much later than it is in women.
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Mane highlighted this issue as a primary motivation for speaking out. “Because it’s rarely talked about, it’s usually found at later stages and has worse outcomes,” he said. “I want to change that.”
Experts say the most common symptom of male breast cancer is a hard, painless lump located directly behind or near the nipple. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Medical data supports Mane’s concerns regarding late-stage detection. While male breast cancer can occur at any age, it is most frequently diagnosed in older men, according to Mayo Clinic.
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Men’s treatment plans generally mirror those for women, typically involving surgery to remove the breast tissue, followed by chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy depending on how far the cancer has progressed.
Treatment plans generally mirror those for women, typically involving surgery to remove the breast tissue, followed by chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy depending on how far the cancer has progressed. (Rune Hellestad/Corbis via Getty Images)
Mane said he is utilizing his platform to normalize conversations about male health and encourage early detection. He concluded his video by asking his followers to spread the word and help educate others.
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“Follow, like and share, and come along for my journey to kick this thing in the ass,” Mane said. “Send this to 10 of your friends and have them follow me, because people need to hear this.”
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