Former CDC staff warn of "a five alarm fire"

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

May 8, 2025 12:45 PM ET


Staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta are reeling, after losing thousands of their colleagues since January, due to firings, reductions in force and buyouts. It's part of a plan by the Trump Administration to "dramatically reduce the size of the Federal Government" with their stated goal of minimizing waste and abuse, according to a February executive order.

Trump celebrated the widespread firings of government workers on April 29, at a rally marking his first hundred days in office. "We are stopping their gravy train, ending their power trip, and telling thousands of corrupt, incompetent and unnecessary deep state bureaucrats, you're fired. Get the hell out of here," he said.

Public health workers feel demoralized, and say the sweeping cuts, made with seemingly little consideration for how the CDC operates, have decreased the nation's ability to track and respond to health threats. It leaves Americans more vulnerable to a host of dangers from lead poisoning to asthma, some cancers, toxic chemicals and deadly infectious diseases among other things, current and former CDC employees told NPR. The administration has restricted communications with domestic and global partners, and put strict limits on buying supplies and hiring people.

Programs and divisions including those dedicated to injury prevention, sexual, reproductive and oral health and workplace hazard reduction have been decimated or eliminated by recent budget and staffing cuts. "It's a five alarm fire," says Dr. Anne Schuchat, a former acting director at CDC who retired in 2021 after working at the agency for 33 years. "The kinds of changes that are happening are going to take decades to recover from, and many people will die because of these interruptions."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/08/nx-s1-5391534/former-cdc-staff-warn-of-a-five-alarm-fire

[JBTaurus83]

1. "many people will die because of these interruptions."

That was the whole plan.

[Cowpunk]

2. And they dare to call us "elitist"

What could be more elitist than making it so that only way a person should be able to fight companies that make people sick or dead is by personally suing them in court? Almost no one has the resources to fight a court battle against a large corporation. And they know that.

[GiqueCee]

3. As I have said many times...

... and will continue to scream myself hoarse from the rooftops, everything this asshole says or does is in service to Putin's psychotic desire to bring America to its knees without firing a shot. And those who should be leading the counter-offensive are, instead, expressing "grave concerns", and writing "strongly worded" letters that are met with derision in the ketchup-stained halls of the West Wing.
At least we have Bernie and AOC, and a few – TOO few – other courageous souls who, along the way, show us what a weasel Bill Maher really is.

[Grokenstein]

4. I feel sorry for the children who might have grown up to be better.

But every adult MAGAt and "protest voter," from the most virulent racist to the relatively-benign-but-gullible FOXNoise junkie, can crawl into a ditch and die crying for salvation that never comes.

[NoMoreRepugs]

5. Billionaire Boyz Club eugenics on display.

[DENVERPOPS]

6. Republicans Mantra

If you get sick.....die........

Fewer and fewer mean far less to pay taxes, same as firing all the Fed employees, less taxpayers.....I guess they haven't thought that far..........They sure ain't gonna make it off tariffs.... (if people don't work, they don't have money, and don't buy things, even at non-tariff prices).......

All of Republican Politicians, The Trump CABAL, the U.S. Senate Republicans, the U.S. House Republicans, the Supreme Court Justices, and the 74+ Million MAGAot voters, seemingly can't think beyond the ends of their noses......

FAFO will seriously come home to roost, more and more in the months ahead........

With Musk and Putin's help, the 2024 election proved they now have the ability to corrupt any presidential election, maybe along with the house and senate elections also, so they are confident in starting to throw their MAGAot Voters under the bus more and more everyday that passes......

Actually the House and Senate elections don't matter at all in the future, and same with the USSC Justices........The Judicial and Legislative branches are no longer useful in a Tyranny.....

[Old Crank]

7. Plague and injury nation.

Here we go. Other countries will start requiring immunization records to get out of the US.