This week at Unbreaking, February 6
This week, we’re launching our new Infectious Disease Control & Prevention page, which tracks the many ways in which the US is making itself more vulnerable to outbreaks and pandemics. We also have a big update from our Archives & History page, which went live just two weeks ago, and new entries from our Data Security and Transgender Healthcare crews.
Introducing the Infectious Disease Control & Prevention page
Our newest timeline tracks actions that hamper our ability to control the spread of infectious diseases. Under Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the administration’s directives and (in)actions have endangered all of us, no matter where we live, because diseases know no borders.
The Trump administration has hollowed out the network of collaborating institutions that were founded to track disease outbreaks, implement public health policies, and keep people informed. It has fired thousands of employees from the CDC and FDA; virtually eliminated the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy; and defunded domestic and international organizations devoted to public health. It has also withdrawn from the World Health Organization, a shortsighted and misguided move that will hinder international tracking of outbreaks and pandemics.
Traditionally, US public health agencies have collected critical data on disease outbreaks and vaccination rates and made their findings available to state, local, and international health agencies and the general public. Now, both data collection and data sharing have been significantly reduced. Officials have removed information about infectious diseases from websites and publications, and CDC leadership even ordered staff not to release a report on the risk of catching measles. These erasures have been accompanied by the replacement of scientific rigor with discredited and dangerous ideas, such as the suggestion that vitamins and “good nutrition” can prevent or treat measles or the long-discredited theory that vaccines cause autism.
Perhaps the most visible and wide-reaching changes to public health policy affect vaccines. On the first day after his confirmation, HHS Secretary Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, criticized the recommendations of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Despite promises to the contrary, he removed all 17 members of ACIP and replaced those experts with unqualified anti-vaccine advocates who have pulled back recommendations for childhood vaccines, including those for COVID, hepatitis B, and others. While cutting funding to promising mRNA vaccine research, HHS has called for scientifically and ethically questionable clinical trials for new vaccines as well as for those already proven to be safe and effective, creating needless barriers to all vaccine adoption and use.
Today, our timeline runs from January 2025 to early January 2026. The most recent entry is the CDC’s widely opposed decision to cut the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, an ominous development. We’ll be back in two weeks with more. For related information, see our pages on Food Safety and Medical Research Funding.
Archives & History
We have added 19 new entries to the timeline. We saw an escalation in the administration’s campaign to remove displays, signs, and images conveying the contributions and experiences of marginalized Americans, several updates on the ongoing review of Smithsonian exhibits, and more revision of narratives about Trump’s first term and the January 6th insurrection.
Data Security
The Data Security team added 5 new entries to our timeline. The federal government continued to grab personal information from unusual sources such as a Washington Post reporter’s laptop and a Georgia elections office. New legal challenges arose against both the TSA’s agreement to share domestic passenger flight data with ICE and the DOJ’s publication of sensitive information about survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse.
Transgender Healthcare
The Trans Healthcare team added 2 new entries to our timeline. Healthcare providers have been scrambling to avoid legal risk — five clinics have announced closures in 2026 alone. Most recently, the University of Utah announced its sudden decision to pre-emptively end gender-supporting care for patients under the age of 18. Worse, it has forbidden clinic staff from transferring patient care to other providers, which amounts to forced detransition.
How to help
Unbreaking is run in the spirit of a mutual aid cooperative, with researchers, writers, editors, and community organizers working collaboratively to create and maintain our timelines and explainers. We welcome both experts in government as well as curious and interested observers. You can learn more about our work, make a contribution, or apply to join us.