Five years after the first COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will pull back billions in pandemic spending from state and local public health departments, nonprofits and international partners, the Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday.
HHS confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that as much as $11 billion could be cut in grants and cooperative agreements identified by CDC as no longer necessary.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” HHS Director of Communications Andrew Nixon said in a statement to NBC News. “HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again.“
The Biden administration ended the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023, at which time it folded some emergency COVID-19 programs into its existing structure.
Grantees began receiving notices on Monday and have 30 days to reconcile their expenditures, according to the NBC report.
Three state public health departments confirmed the news to DCNF.
“We were notified by CDC that four grants we had received to support our capacity in various areas of the Department post-COVID-19 have been terminated,” said Joseph Wendelken, public information officer for the Rhode Island Department of Health. “While the work funded by these grants goes beyond responding to COVID-19, CDC’s cause for terminating these grants was the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are working very closely with the Governor’s Office and the Rhode Island Attorney General to explore all options to safeguard the funding that supports the critical work done by the Department of Health.”
“We’re evaluating the potential effects of funding changes,” said Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations for the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) “has been expecting COVID-19 funding to be reduced or discontinued, as the pandemic declines,” said Arrol Sheehan, public information officer for the ADPH, in an email. “ADPH has already made a number of staffing and budget adjustments to accommodate changes in funding. In light of today’s information, ADPH will continue to review its plans and take measures to protect and promote the health and well being of the citizens of Alabama.”
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the National Association of County and City Health Officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
NACCHO leadership has warned its staff about potential layoffs, according to a NACCHO employee who asked to remain anonymous.
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