By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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FRIDAY, April 4, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not only lost nearly a fifth of its workforce, it has also been directed to slash $2.9 billion in contract spending.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s about 35% of its total contract budget. The agency has been ordered to comply by April 18.<\/p>\n
These cuts come on top of the loss of 2,400 employees, The New York Times <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, more staff were fired, including scientists who worked on environmental health, asthma<\/a>, injuries, lead poisoning<\/a> and climate change.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, any manager can find small savings and improvements, but these kinds of demands are of the size and speed that break down organizations,\u201d Dr. Tom Inglesby<\/a>, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the way to do good for the public or for the public\u2019s health,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The CDC\u2019s largest contract — about $7 billion a year — is for the Vaccines for Children Program, which provides vaccines for families who can\u2019t afford them.<\/p>\n That program is required by law and will not be affected, officials said.<\/p>\n But other contracts that pay for computer systems, security, cleaning and research projects could be cut. Some contracts also support COVID-related work, which may also be at risk.<\/p>\n Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also stopped $11.4 billion in CDC grants<\/a> to states that were using the money for tracking diseases, mental health and addiction treatment.<\/p>\n Some contracts may not move forward at all because the people in charge of them have already been let go.<\/p>\n The administration also told the CDC to cut grants to Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania due to concerns about how the schools handled antisemitism on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cFunding grants and contracts are the mechanism by which we get things done,\u201d one CDC scientist who asked to remain anonymous because of a fear of retaliation, told The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are cutting off our arms and legs.\u201d<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy group, is tracking ongoing federal budget cuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n