At the National Institutes of Health, the world’s leading health and medical agency, the layoffs occurred as its new director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, began his first day of work.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote on social media as he celebrated the swearing-in of his latest hires: Bhattacharya and Martin Makary, the new Food and Drug Administration commissioner.
The plan would consolidate agencies that oversee billions of dollars for addiction services and community health centers under a new office called the Administration for a Healthy America.
AP AUDIO: Layoffs begin at US health agencies charged with tracking disease, researching and regulating food AP correspondent Julie Walker reports layoffs begin at US health agencies charged with tracking disease, researching and regulating food.
Among the hardest-hit centers was the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, with more than 1,000 employees.
Beyond layoffs at federal health agencies, cuts are beginning at state and local health departments as a result of an HHS move last week to pull back more than $11 billion in COVID-19-related money.
__ 2,400 jobs at the CDC, which monitors for infectious disease outbreaks and works with public health agencies nationwide. »
