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March 19, 2026

Infectious Disease Control & Prevention

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Infectious Disease Control & Prevention

Infectious diseases can be as mild as the common cold or as lethal as rabies. They are caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other microorganisms, collectively called pathogens.

Since the founding of the Marine Hospital Service in 1798, the US government has played a crucial role in detecting infectious diseases and preventing their spread. In cooperation with the states and with other countries, the federal government has established systems to spot and track outbreaks and to promote disease prevention and infection control in American institutions, communities, and homes.

What is happening?

Led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Trump administration’s public health agencies are now making the US and the rest of the world more susceptible to infectious disease outbreaks, including global pandemics. In public, the administration’s flagship Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative downplays the well-established role of pathogens in disease and promotes a variety of lifestyle changes instead, with little to no evidence. Behind the scenes, this ideological campaign plays out in pragmatic ways: slashing funding, gutting institutions, unwinding longstanding and successful vaccine and education programs, and stopping the collection of essential data.

The specific attacks we’re tracking include:

Timeline of events

DateWhat happened?Metadata
Mar 16, 2025Federal judge Brian E. Murphy issues a preliminary ruling that HHS likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which dictates how federal policy is made, when it packed the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) with new members the judge said may not have expertise to inform vaccine policy and when the agency bypassed ACIP to change the childhood vaccine schedule. (American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy).$cases: American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy
Mar 16, 2026As part of his ruling, Judge Murphy ordered a stay of recently-appointed ACIP members, which effectively means the group’s meeting planned for March 18-19 has been postponed with no new date announced.$cases: American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy
Mar 12, 2026All members of the Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) endorse the WHO’s recommendation for which viral strains to include in this year’s flu vaccines, paving the way for FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary to make the final decision on the seasonal flu vaccine’s makeup.
Mar 12, 2026Federal Judge Manish S. Shah blocks the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and HHS from cancelling health grants to four states over political disagreements on immigration policy, although his court can’t enforce payments. (Illinois v. Vought).$cases: Illinois v. Vought
Mar 10, 2026KFF reports that 26 states and the District of Columbia are no longer relying on the CDC for recommendations on all childhood vaccines, with three additional states relying on alternative sources for one or two vaccines on the schedule.
Mar 9, 2026The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) sues the administration over the termination of more than $600 million in grants to prevent and mitigate infectious disease outbreaks. (AFSCME v. Vought).$cases: AFSCME v. Vought
Mar 6, 2026In a post on X, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announces that Dr. Vinay Prasad will leave the FDA at the end of April, marking the second time the controversial Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research will be leaving the agency.
Mar 3, 2026HHS postpones the March meeting of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), raising concerns about the future of the prevention-focused panel of experts, especially since the group hasn’t met since March 2025 and nearly a third of its members have not been replaced since their terms ended on January 1.
Mar 2, 2026At the request of US health officials, an expert panel convened by the Pan American Health Organization will delay meeting to review the US’ measles elimination status until November, which experts say the country will likely lose.
Mar 2, 2026Citing budget constraints, 18 states are limiting access to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program that provides medical care and support to low income and under-insured people living with HIV, with an additional five states considering new restrictions on access to the program.
Feb 27, 2026Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appoints two new members to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), including Texas pediatrician Dr. Angelina Farella, who has made a number of anti-vaccine statements in line with other Kennedy-appointed ACIP members.
Feb 26, 2026After missing the deadline to notify the public of its February meeting, ACIP announces that its next meeting will be in mid-March and indicates it may vote on COVID-19 vaccine-related injuries, despite having no jurisdiction in the vaccine injury compensation process.
Feb 25, 2026Wellness influencer, author, and prominent MAHA leader Dr. Casey Means, who has also been a vocal critic of the mainstream medical system, undergoes her Senate confirmation hearing as the nominee for Surgeon General.
Feb 25, 2026While at least 17 African governments and Panama have signed bilateral agreements with the U.S., Zimbabwe ends negotiations to get health assistance from the US, citing an unequal exchange of biological resources and health data, and Zambia also pushes back on negotiations over mining rights.
Feb 25, 2026Citing a lack of “scientific rigor and impartiality,” the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) ends its participation as a liaison organization in the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), choosing to instead partner with independent medical organizations that are “committed to evidence-based medicine” on vaccines.
Feb 24, 2026Fifteen states sue HHS and its officials in the Northern District of California federal court, challenging various agency decisions, including changing the childhood vaccine schedule, removing the recommendation for Hepatitis B vaccines at birth, and replacing members of the (ACIP). (Arizona v. Kennedy).$cases: Arizona v. Kennedy
Feb 23, 2026In an ongoing trend of personnel changes at the CDC, anti-vaccine activist Dr. Ralph Abraham resigns as principal deputy director of the CDC less than three months into the position.
Feb 23, 2026Amid a drop in vaccinations, multiple states including Nevada, Nebraska, and Texas report an increase in whooping cough cases, some for the second year in a row.
Feb 20, 2026Propublica reports that healthcare systems in many states affected by measles outbreaks, including South Carolina, do not require hospitals to report measles-related admissions, potentially complicating tracking, prevention, and education efforts.
Feb 20, 2026Reporting from Rolling Stone documents that the CDC bypassed its Institutional Review Board ethics review and grant review processes to fund the grant for the now-canceled and controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau.
Feb 19, 2026The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration wants to spend $2 billion a year on a global health program on par with the WHO, which the US withdrew from in part because of President Trump’s complaint that $680 million in annual contributions were “unfairly onerous.”
Feb 18, 2026After missing the deadline to notify the public of a meeting at least seven to fifteen days in advance, the ACIP meeting originally planned for February is postponed.
Feb 18, 2026NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya replaces Jim O’Neill to also become the acting director of the CDC, making him the fourth person in a year to hold that position.
Feb 18, 2026The FDA reverses course and agrees to review Moderna’s application for approval of its mRNA flu vaccine, just about a week after it said it wouldn’t, reportedly due to pressure from the White House.
Feb 17, 2026In an amended complaint, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups suing over federal vaccine policy challenge the CDC’s January 5 changes to childhood immunization recommendations and COVID vaccine eligibility. They also allege that the new members of ACIP are invalid appointments (AAP v. Kennedy).$cases: American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy
Feb 17, 2026After the US withdrawal from the WHO, California, Illinois, New York State, and New York City join the Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN), the WHO network that monitors disease outbreaks around the world, with Colorado and Wisconsin announcing plans to join as well.
Feb 14, 2026The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Guinea-Bissau’s government call off a controversial clinical trial, proposed and funded by the CDC, to test the hepatitis B vaccine in newborns. The trial has been criticized since it was announced on December 18, 2025, and described as unethical, as it would provide a birth dose to some babies and delay the vaccine for others.
Feb 13, 2026In response to the rising number of measles cases in South Carolina, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary urges parents “to make sure that their kids are vaccinated.” Makary is joined by NIH Director Bhattacharya and CMS Director Mehmet Oz in claiming that the administration supports measles vaccination.
Feb 13, 2026Joining a preservation effort led by archivists, educators and journalists, Men’s Health magazine publishes the content of pages that were deleted from the CDC website following executive orders targeting trans people and DEI-focused programs and initiatives.
Feb 13, 2026Nature reports that staff at NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) must remove “biodefense” and “pandemic preparedness” from its web pages after NIH leaders outline a major strategic overhaul to NIAID’s priorities.
Feb 12, 2026Federal judge Manish Suresh Shah issues an emergency order temporarily stopping the government from cutting public health grants to California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota. (Illinois v. Vought).$cases: Illinois v. Vought
Feb 11, 2026California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota sue the Office of Management and Budget and other federal agencies, alleging the government’s cuts of $602 million in public health grants from Democratic-led states were political and unrelated to the purpose of the grants (Illinois v. Vought).$cases: Illinois v. Vought
Feb 10, 2026The American Medical Association and the Vaccine Integrity Project announce the launch of a review process for vaccine safety modeled after past practices of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which is no longer doing rigorous, evidence-based reviews.
Feb 10, 2026The FDA refuses to review an application for approval of a new mRNA flu vaccine from Moderna, citing a concern expressed by the FDA when the vaccine’s Phase 3 trial was in planning.
Feb 10, 2026More than 17,000 employees, or roughly 19%, have left HHS since 2024, according to the US Office of Personnel Management, over 12,000 of whom were at the CDC, the FDA, the NIH, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Feb 6, 2026The Trump administration orders the CDC to rescind over $602 million in funding for state and local health programs in four Democrat-led states. The targeted programs include initiatives to increase HIV prevention for Black women in Illinois and to address COVID disparities among racial minorities in Colorado.
Feb 6, 2026NPR reports that the CDC issued only six public health alerts in 2025. Without these early warnings — sometimes dozens of alerts per year — doctors, hospitals, and health departments are less able to prepare against emerging threats.
Jan 31, 2026Two children in the ICE detention center in Dilley, TX, are confirmed to have measles, less than two weeks after another case was reported in a detention center in Arizona.
Jan 28, 2026Reuters reports that HHS is withholding US funding for Gavi, an international organization that helps low-income countries get vaccines, unless the organization develops a plan to remove thimerosal (a safe, extensively tested preservative) from the vaccines it supplies. Health advocates warn that this will sharply decrease global vaccine access.
Jan 28, 2026HHS Secretary Kennedy replaces all members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee; many new members promote the unfounded theory that vaccines cause autism. The nonprofit Autism Science Foundation releases a statement expressing concerns about the committee members’ lack of expertise and unbalanced perspectives.
Jan 26, 2026Research agencies lost 10,000 PhD-trained employees in STEM and health roles across 14 organizations in 2025, three times more than in 2024, according to an analysis by Science.
Jan 23, 2026Citing a lack of federal grant funding, Florida changes eligibility requirements for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, stripping payment assistance for thousands of HIV+ Floridians.
Jan 22, 2026The US officially withdraws from the World Health Organization (WHO), claiming that WHO has acted against US interests. The US leaves without paying $260.6 million owed for the previous two years, resulting in cuts to WHO staff and ongoing funding shortfalls for the WHO.
Jan 22, 2026KFF reports that 28 states (including DC) have decided not to follow the CDC’s updated childhood vaccination schedule, most relying instead on the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Jan 16, 2026Emails obtained by a Danish journalist show that HHS bypassed the standard review process when it awarded funding to a pair of controversial Danish researchers for a study that would delay hepatitis B vaccination in newborn babies in Guinea-Bissau.
Jan 13, 2026HHS Secretary Kennedy appoints Adam Urato and Kimberly Biss, two OB-GYNs, to ACIP; both have questioned the use of vaccines in pregnancy.
Jan 11, 2025Federal judge Beryl Howell issues a preliminary injunction requiring HHS to restore grant funding to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) while the group’s case proceeds, agreeing that the loss of funding for public health programs caused “irreparable harm” and pointing to evidence that the grants were terminated in retaliation for AAP’s criticism of HHS (American Academy of Pediatrics v. Department of Health and Human Services).$cases: American Academy of Pediatrics v. Department of Health and Human Services
Jan 7, 2026The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases submits a joint letter with more than 70 scientific and medical organizations urging the CDC to reverse course on its changes to the childhood vaccination schedule.
Jan 5, 2026The West Coast Health Alliance recommends that child and adolescent immunization schedules continue to follow AAP guidelines rather than the ones now endorsed by the CDC.
Jan 5, 2026In a move opposed by at least 20 states and 200 health organizations (including the AAP), the CDC slashes the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, dropping recommendations for rotavirus, COVID, and seasonal flu and recommending hepatitis A and B, RSV, and meningitis vaccines only for “high-risk” individuals.
Dec 30, 2025The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) notifies state health officials that they no longer have to report how many children, including the 40% covered by Medicaid, they vaccinate. Experts warn that the change may hinder childhood vaccination tracking efforts.
Dec 24, 2025The AAP sues the Trump administration over $12 million in canceled funding and asks for the money to be restored while the case proceeds. (American Academy of Pediatrics v. Department of Health and Human Services).$cases: American Academy of Pediatrics v. Department of Health and Human Services
Dec 22, 2025John Beigel, acting director of the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at NIH, resigns after a study — considered low risk by experts — on seasonal flu viruses is indefinitely suspended, reportedly as a result of an expanded, and arguably politicized, definition of risky research.
Dec 18, 2025Moderna announces that the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) has stepped in to help fund a trial of a new H5N1 (bird flu) mRNA vaccine after HHS in May canceled agreements that supported Moderna’s development and testing and guaranteed doses for the US.
Dec 18, 2025The CDC awards an unsolicited $1.6 million grant to a controversial Danish research group to conduct a study in Guinea-Bissau comparing the gold standard practice of hepatitis B vaccine at birth with a dose delayed until 6 weeks of age, a design widely criticized as being unethical and risking infection in infants.
Dec 18, 2025Senate Republicans block a resolution that would have required HHS to make its rulemaking open to public comment, allowing instead for the department to exempt itself from following the legal requirement.
Dec 17, 2025Citing a misalignment with its priorities, the administration terminates seven grants to the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP). Others see the move as retaliation for the AAP’s criticism of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine policies.
Dec 16, 2025The CDC adopts ACIP’s recommendation against administering the hepatitis B vaccination at birth when a mother tests negative for the virus, instead mandating “individual-based decision-making.”
Dec 14, 2025California Governor Gavin Newsom announces that former CDC director Susan Monarez and former CDC medical director Debra Houry will serve as consultants for California’s Department of Public Health.
Dec 12, 2025CNN reports that the FDA intends to put a “black box” warning, usually reserved for life-threatening or disabling medications, on COVID vaccines. FDA commissioner Marty Makary later tells Bloomberg Television that the agency has no such plans.
Dec 11, 2025The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS), a WHO expert committee, releases a new data analysis reaffirming previous findings that childhood vaccines, including those containing thimerosal (also spelled thiomersal) or aluminum, are not a cause of autism.
Dec 10, 2025According to a new study in Vaccine, the CDC has dramatically reduced its social media activity in the first seven months of 2025, with only 10 posts about the unprecedented measles outbreak and zero posts encouraging vaccine uptake.
Dec 10, 2025Michigan Democratic Representative Haley Stevens introduces an article of impeachment against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., arguing that his actions have jeopardized public health, increased the cost of healthcare, and cut essential research.
Dec 5, 2025Following a meeting filled with racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric, ACIP votes to recommend delaying infant vaccination against hepatitis B, overturning a 30-year-old policy that has contributed to a massive decline in infections. Major medical organizations issue statements supporting vaccination at birth.
Dec 2, 2025STAT reports that, in a departure from usual practice, internal and external experts on the hepatitis B vaccine, including its makers, have not been consulted ahead of a CDC ACIP meeting on the subject.
Nov 28, 2025The FDA circulates an internal memo that says most new vaccines cannot be approved without being tested in lengthy and expensive randomized clinical trials requiring placebo control. The memo also includes unsubstantiated claims that the COVID vaccine caused the deaths of 10 children.
Nov 26, 2025The State Department issues guidance to its employees and grantees to no longer promote or fund the commemoration of World AIDS Day, which was first observed on December 1, 1988.
Nov 25, 2025A search tool that allowed users to find vaccination sites based on their ZIP code is no longer active on CDC website Vaccines.gov. This follows the removal from the page of language supporting vaccine uptake.
Nov 23, 2025The CDC quietly appoints Ralph Abraham, who has been a prominent COVID vaccine critic and promoter of discredited treatments, as its principal deputy director.
Nov 20, 2025The CDC edits its vaccine safety webpage to suggest a long-disproven link between vaccination and autism, drawing widespread condemnation from medical, academic, and patient advocacy groups.
Nov 17, 2025Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests, without evidence, a link between the use of aluminum in some vaccine formulations and the increased prevalence of food allergies.
Nov 17, 2025The Trump administration announces a plan to provide HIV-preventing antiretroviral drugs to countries most affected by the disease, but notably leaves out South Africa, which has the largest population of individuals living with HIV.
Nov 13, 2025NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and Principal Deputy Director Matthew J. Memoli argue in the City Journal that the NIH’s previous approach to pandemic preparedness was dangerous and instead propose simply encouraging Americans to improve their health, a strategy that experts note will only exacerbate vulnerabilities to future pandemics.
Nov 12, 2025The MAHA Summit in Washington, DC, features Vice President JD Vance, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and others who use the event to criticize scientific methods and institutions as well as the government’s response to the COVID pandemic during Trump’s first term in office.
Nov 7, 2025Bypassing discussions already underway with WHO member states, the US State Department initiates negotiations for new agreements directly with more than 50 countries to get more control over disease surveillance, outbreak reporting, and data- and specimen-sharing with those countries.
Nov 5, 2025The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other groups amend their lawsuit against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to ask the court to invalidate the decisions of ACIP, disband it, and order that it be reconstituted “with all new members, in good faith” (American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy).$cases: American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy
Oct 30, 2025MS NOW reports that the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), which aided in the rapid development of the COVID vaccine, is being run by Acting Deputy Director John Knox, an anti-vaccine influencer who lost his job as a firefighter for refusing COVID vaccination.
Oct 28, 2025HHS fires Steven J. Hatfill, a biosecurity expert whose views helped inform Secretary Kennedy’s decision to cancel funding for mRNA vaccine research.
Oct 21, 2025The journal NEJM Evidence and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota announce plans to create an alternative to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Oct 15, 2025Fifteen Democratic governors announce the formation of the Governors Public Health Alliance, designed to serve as a hub for state governments to establish public health guidance and fight disease outbreaks amid an increasingly fragmented federal health system .
Oct 15, 2025Reports surface that Trump administration health officials are re-reviewing the safety of aluminum salts — used in vaccines to boost immune response and proven in large studies to be safe — to consider banning vaccines that use them; these include about half the nation’s supply of childhood vaccines.
Oct 8, 2025The CDC allegedly fires more than 1,300 staff (and more than 700 within 24 hours) as part of the government shutdown — some in error. Among those not reinstated are analysts who work on biodefense against pandemics and weaponized pathogens and staff who help inform the public about outbreaks.
Oct 3, 2025Health Secretary Kennedy fires National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) head Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, who had been on indefinite leave since March and was one of the NIH whistleblowers calling attention to internal clashes over vaccine research.
Sep 22, 2025HHS announces the transfer of more than 70 Public Health Service officers, including those who were in positions meant to respond to disease outbreaks, to Indian Health Service facilities around the country. Experts warn that such transfers will strain the health agencies the officers are leaving behind.
Sep 21, 2025Connecticut, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York State and New York City, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island form the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, aimed at strengthening regional health guidance amid changing and confusing national health recommendations.
Sep 19, 2025The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) votes against requiring prescriptions for COVID vaccines, recommending instead that people talk to a health care provider before receiving the shot. Acting CDC director Jim O’Neill later signs off on this recommendation.
Sep 18, 2025The State Department releases its “America First Global Health Strategy,” pulling back from agreements with international organizations like the WHO in favor of one-to-one agreements with countries to strengthen their local health systems, potentially at the risk of undermining national security.
Sep 17, 2025The West Coast Health Alliance releases its own vaccine guidance for the winter of 2025–2026, including a recommendation that anyone over the age of 6 months who wants one should get an updated COVID vaccine — a broader group than the CDC recommends.
Sep 15, 2025The governor of Wisconsin signs an executive order requiring insurance companies, pharmacies, and the state’s health department to protect and ensure statewide access to vaccines.
Sep 15, 2025Health Secretary Kennedy appoints five new members to ACIP , three of whom have either questioned the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccines, criticized vaccine mandates, or spread misinformation about pandemic statistics.
Sep 12, 2025Reports emerge that the Trump administration has reverted to using “monkeypox,” the outdated and stigmatizing former name of the disease mpox.
Sep 10, 2025HHS signs a deal that will allow the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to continue stockpiling a combination smallpox/mpox vaccine.
Sep 9, 2025Reports emerge that a CDC project to make near-real-time information about dozens of infectious diseases available to public health officials was put on hold indefinitely by HHS.
Sep 8, 2025The governor of New York issues an executive order to protect vaccine access. Three days later, the governor of Minnesota issues a similar order.
Sep 4, 2025Two former NIH leaders file a whistleblower complaint alleging they were removed from their positions for political reasons after objecting to the Trump administration’s attempts to withhold funding for vaccine development and clinical research on diseases including HIV and tuberculosis.
Sep 3, 2025The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington announce the West Coast Health Alliance to protect vaccine access, improve the quality of health information, and ensure health policies are informed by science. The following day, Hawai‘i joins the alliance.
Sep 3, 2025In response to federal limits on COVID vaccine access, states including Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts take steps to ensure continued access to the vaccines.
Sep 3, 2025HHS Secretary Kennedy publishes an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal outlining planned steps to “restore trust” in HHS, such as the shakeups to ACIP and senior leadership in an effort to remove “conflicts of interest and bureaucratic complacency.”
Sep 2, 2025The FDA removes Paul Offit, a critic of Health Secretary Kennedy, from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologics Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).
Aug 28, 2025Four top officials of the CDC, including leaders of divisions integral to infectious disease and pandemic response, quit in response to the ousting of Dr. Susan Monarez.
Aug 28, 2025CDC staff hold a “clap out” to show support for the top officials who resigned, three of whom are present and walk through the gathered crowd.
Aug 28, 2025Citing uncertainty around vaccine regulation, pharmacy giants CVS and Walgreens suspend COVID vaccinations in 16 states.
Aug 27, 2025The White House fires Dr. Susan Monarez, who was confirmed as CDC director in July, when she refuses to tender her resignation after not unequivocally committing to changing vaccine policy.
Aug 26, 2025Overruling staff scientists, the FDA issues memos explaining its decision to limit eligibility for Pfizer’s COMIRNATY and Moderna’s SPIKEVAX seasonal COVID vaccines to the same groups as other COVID vaccines whose eligibility the agency previously limited.
Aug 21, 2025The CDC terminates at least 600 employees, including many working on the government’s response to infectious diseases such as bird flu.
Aug 13, 2025Defend Public Health, a group of 3,000 public health researchers, health care workers, and other advocates releases “Improving the Health of America Together” to counter the Make America Healthy Again agenda.
Aug 5, 2025HHS cancels 22 grants from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for mRNA vaccines worth $500 million, signaling a complete pivot away from investment in that vaccine platform
Jul 31, 2025The Trump administration bars liaisons from approximately 30 major medical and public health organizations from serving as external advisors to ACIP (the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices), alleging that such outside organizations were “special interest groups” who were expected “to have a bias.”
Jul 30, 2025All 17 members ousted from the ACIP copublish a commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine calling the dismantling of the group’s process and the removal of experts a “seismic disruption” to how vaccines are vetted and warning of the “rapidly eroding” scientific rigor of vaccine approvals.
Jul 30, 2025Reports surface that Dr. Gerald Parker, who was reportedly selectedy to lead the White House’s Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, was never appointed but had instead been leading the National Security Council’s Biosecurity and Pandemic Response directorate — a position he resigned from in June. This left both the White House and the National Security Council’s pandemic preparedness teams without any full-time staff.
Jul 18, 2025Citing concerns about sovereignty and scientific freedom, the Trump administration officially rejects proposed amendments to the WHO’s International Health Regulations that had been negotiated by the Biden administration to facilitate a more coordinated global response to pandemics.
Jul 7, 2025Multiple medical organizations file a suit challenging an HHS decision to remove the COVID vaccine from the CDC’s recommended list of immunizations for healthy children and healthy pregnant women (American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy).$cases: American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy
Jul 2, 2025Citing declining case numbers and no reports of human cases, the CDC announces the end of its emergency response to H5N1 bird flu. Some experts caution that this could increase human and animal exposure to the virus and increase the risk of mutations spreading unobserved.
Jun 28, 2025NPR reports that CDC funding for state and local health departments’ HIV prevention work ended in May due to extreme, unexplained delays in budget apportionment, which have resulted in the administration releasing money to the CDC only in month-by-month “eyedropper” portions.
Jun 26, 2025In response to “misinformation, politicization of commonsense public health efforts, and sudden changes to federal vaccine guidance,” the presidents of five major medical professional associations pledge to continue strongly recommending immunizations and call on insurers, hospitals, pharmacies, and public health agencies to do the same.
Jun 25, 2025The FDA requires Pfizer and Moderna to update warning labels on their respective mRNA COVID vaccines to emphasize that the rates of myocarditis and/or pericarditis have been highest in males ages 12- 64 who received the shots.
Jun 24, 2025AHIP, a national trade association representing the health insurance industry, announces their commitment to ongoing coverage of vaccines.
Jun 9, 2025Health Secretary Kennedy removes all 17 members of the CDC’s independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) despite his previous promises to the contrary, drawing widespread criticism from doctors.
May 30, 2025The Trump administration releases details for its 2026 budget request. The request reduces funding for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and global health security by 40–56% and eliminates funding for neglected tropical diseases.
May 30, 2025Echoing its rationale for limiting Novavax’s COVID vaccine’s availability, the FDA issues a memo explaining its decision to restrict availability of Moderna’s MNEXSPIKE COVID vaccine to previously vaccinated individuals over 65 and 12- to 64-year-olds with underlying conditions.
May 28, 2025HHS terminates a $590 million contract with Moderna to develop an H5N1 (bird flu) mRNA vaccine and cites inaccurate information as justification.
May 27, 2025HHS Secretary Kennedy announces that the CDC will no longer recommend COVID vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women.
May 20, 2025In a commentary, two Trump-appointed FDA officials announce that future seasonal COVID vaccines will need to be tested in randomized clinical trials for approval, possibly extending an already-slow timeline for getting seasonal shots from drug makers to the general public.
May 16, 2025Dr. Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s chief medical and scientific officer, issues a memo explaining its decision to override previous FDA approvals and limit availability of Novavax’s Nuvaxovid COVID vaccine to individuals over 65 and 12- to 64-year-olds with underlying conditions.
May 2, 2025The White House releases a budget request that would cut funding for the NIH by $18 billion, the CDC by $3.6 billion, and the entire budget of HHS by 26% overall.
May 1, 2025HHS Secretary Kennedy announces his intention to implement a policy that would test all new vaccines against a placebo. This is in direct conflict with scientific ethics and could also interrupt vaccine access.
Apr 24, 2025The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota launches the Vaccine Integrity Project, in consultation with other major medical groups, as a potential alternative to the CDC’s vaccine advisory board.
Apr 10, 2025Governor of Colorado Jared Polis signs a law directing the Colorado Board of Health to consider recommendations from high-profile doctors’ groups when setting vaccine guidelines, rather than relying only on recommendations from the CDC.
Apr 9, 2025In a live TV interview, HHS Secretary Kennedy falsely claims that vaccines targeting single proteins on respiratory viruses have “never worked,” despite this being the design for all US COVID vaccines, most flu vaccines, and vaccines for some other illnesses.
Apr 2, 2025A high-ranking Trump appointee at the FDA intervenes in the review of Novavax’s COVID vaccine, an unusual move that breaks longstanding precedents shielding scientific reviews by career FDA staff from political influence.
Apr 1, 2025The Trump administration fires FDA staff working on the bird flu response as part of mass layoffs at HHS.
Apr 1, 2025HHS fires 2,400 CDC employees — nearly 20% of the CDC workforce — including about 27% of staff at the division focusing on HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.
Mar 31, 2025HHS closes Freedom of Information Act offices at the CDC and several other agencies.
Mar 28, 2025Dr. Peter Marks, a vaccine expert who played a key role in the first Trump administration’s effort to develop COVID vaccines, is forced out at the FDA.
Mar 28, 2025Reports surface that leaders at the CDC ordered staff to not release a report that found the risk of catching measles is high in low-vaccination areas near outbreaks.
Mar 25, 2025The CDC takes back $11.4 billion in funding that had been allocated to state and local health departments and other grant recipients for the COVID pandemic response. Notices began being issued to grantees in recent weeks.
Mar 25, 2025Reports surface that USAID cuts have halted several programs (including STOP Spillover and PEPFAR) that do important surveillance of diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, polio, cholera, hemorrhagic fevers, and mpox.
Mar 25, 2025HHS appoints David Geier, an anti-vaccine activist, to lead a new study investigating whether a relationship between vaccines and autism exists.
Mar 22, 2025Reports surface that an NGO led until very recently by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is hosting a CDC clone website filled with vaccine disinformation and appropriating official CDC logos.
Mar 17, 2025Reports surface that the Trump administration has virtually eliminated the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy by leaving positions vacant and removing pages from the White House website.
Mar 11, 2025HHS Secretary Kennedy suggests letting H5N1 outbreaks spread unchecked through US poultry farms, alarming bird flu experts.
Mar 11, 2025The National Institutes of Health (NIH) terminates at least 33 research grants studying vaccine hesitancy and strategies to increase vaccine uptake, and scales back nine others on the topic.
Mar 7, 2025The New York Times reports that the number of employees dedicated to outbreak responses at USAID has been reduced from more than 50 to 6.
Mar 4, 2025Nicholas Enrich, acting assistant administrator for global health at USAID, writes a memo warning that the administration’s disruption of foreign assistance will result in “preventable death, destabilization, and threats to national security on a massive scale.”
Mar 4, 2025HHS Secretary Kennedy makes a misleading claim that vitamin A can “dramatically reduce” measles deaths in an interview on Fox News.
Mar 2, 2025HHS Secretary Kennedy writes an editorial for Fox News on the ongoing measles outbreak; he discusses vaccination but also emphasizes vitamin A and calls good nutrition “a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses.”
Feb 26, 2025The Department of Agriculture announces a new strategy to combat avian influenza, focusing on farm-based vaccination and potential herd immunity and pivoting away from culling animals. The stated aim is to protect the poultry industry and lower egg prices. The strategy does not address the human pandemic threat posed by the virus.
Feb 20, 2025HHS postpones the CDC’s regular Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting and fails to activate its associated public comment portal, amid reports that Health Secretary Kennedy is preparing to remove members of ACIP.
Feb 19, 2025The CDC pulls a campaign promoting the flu vaccine at a time when hospital admissions for influenza are at a 15-year high.
Feb 14, 2025The CDC fires about 10% of its workforce (1,300 employees), including those who track and respond to infectious disease outbreaks in the US and overseas.
Feb 14, 2025The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ends a program to modernize electronic disease surveillance at the CDC, whose outdated systems have struggled to keep up during COVID. The move endangers the government’s ability to track potential future pandemics.
Feb 14, 2025Trump signs EO 14214: “Keeping Education Accessible and Ending COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in Schools,” prohibiting federal funding for schools and universities that require COVID vaccination.
Feb 13, 2025The CDC publishes a long-anticipated report in MMWR suggesting zoonotic spillover of bird flu from cows to humans. Experts express concern about inadequate surveillance and publication delays that could hamper efforts to curb further spread of the disease.
Feb 13, 2025The Senate confirms Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health, paving the way for a radical overhaul of the agency and deprioritization of infectious disease threats. On Kennedy’s first day he questions the advice of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee.
Feb 6, 2025The Trump administration appoints Gerald Parker, a veterinarian and former top-ranking federal health official, as senior director for the National Security Council’s Biosecurity and Pandemic Response directorate.
Feb 6, 2025The CDC publishes the first issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) since the January 21 freeze on external communications. Despite the two-week gap, the issue includes only two studies, both about wildfires, with no mention of the ongoing bird flu outbreak.
Feb 3, 2025The Senate Finance Committee approves the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of HHS.
Jan 31, 2025Complying with EO 14168, the CDC scrubs its website of references to LGBTQ+ people and other topics related to gender identity, removing entire pages on HIV testing for trans individuals and vaccination against mpox.
Jan 31, 2025The CDC instructs staff to contact scientific journals and stop publication of already submitted manuscripts containing “forbidden terms,” including “gender,” “transgender,” “pregnant person,” “LGBT,” and “non-binary,” impeding efforts to collect information on these populations for targeted public health responses.
Jan 30, 2025Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaking during Senate hearings to confirm him as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), downplays his extensive record of pushing inaccurate information about vaccines and infectious diseases.
Jan 29, 2025In response to EO 14168 of January 20, 2025: “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” the Office of Personnel Management issues a memo requiring all departments and agencies to “Take down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology” by January 31. This includes pages on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website with information targeted specifically at LGBTQ+ populations on topics like HIV and mpox.
Jan 24, 2025By directing the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to issue stop-work orders for foreign aid awards until they are reviewed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Trump administration cuts off billions in life-saving funding, including for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious disease monitoring.
Jan 21, 2025The Trump administration freezes all external science and public health communications pending approval by Trump appointees. These include key publications that track vaccinations, virus surveillance, medical visits, and hospitalizations and deaths.
Jan 20, 2025President Trump rescinds two Biden executive orders, EO 13987: “Organizing and Mobilizing the United States Government To Provide a Unified and Effective Response To Combat COVID-19 and To Provide United States Leadership on Global Health and Security,” and EO 13996: “Establishing the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and Ensuring a Sustainable Public Health Workforce for COVID and Other Biological Threats.” This guts a key federal coordinating body for pandemic preparedness and health security efforts.
Jan 20, 2025Trump signs EO 14155: “Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization." This significantly hinders the ability of the US to take part in global health response efforts. The loss of financial contributions by the US also weakens the WHO.
Jan 20, 2025Trump signs EO 14169: “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” which orders a 90-day pause on almost all US foreign development assistance programs, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID), in order to conduct a review.

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