After Exiting WHO, Trump Now 'Pauses' US Health Agency Reports And Online Posts

There have been further new developments in health news from the United States after the 47th President Donald Trump passed executive orders to exit the global health body, World Health Organization (WHO). The Trump administration has now put a freeze on many federal health agency communication with the public through at least end of the month, reports AP.

The AP obtained a memo by the acting Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services Dorothy Fink that told agency staff leader than an "immediate pause" has been ordered on the regulations, guidance, announcements, press releases, social media posts and website posts, until these communications has been approved by a political appointee.

ALSO READ: 'We Hope US Will Reconsider' Says WHO On Trump's Exit Order From Global Health Body

Which Health Agencies Are Under The "Pause"?

Anything that is to be published in the Federal Register has been paused, including the agencies like Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which is a Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publication.

The pause is to be in effect through February 1. It is implied on agencies which are subjected to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) directive, which includes the CDC, National Institute of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. Other agencies include those that fight epidemics, protect the nation's food supply and search for cures to diseases.

Is An "Immediate Pause" Usual?

As per a former HHS official, it is not unusual for new administration to pause agency communications for review. However, they usually run smooth by the inauguration day.

While the pause is reasonable, says a former CDC outbreak investigator Dr Ali Khan, what most fear is if it would mean "silencing the agencies around a political narrative".

The fear comes from the previous term, when President Trump's appointees tried to gain control over the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report journal that published information about the COVID-19 pandemic. The information was contrary with the message from the White House.

Is The Fear Real?

Under the Trump Administration, a political movement called MAGA: Make American Great Again has also developed into a conservative sub-brand MAHA: Make America Healthy Again. While this sub-brand does talk about making the nation healthy again, it encourages leaders and influencers who have supported anti-vaxxer movements, believed that vaccines cause autism, or that the agencies and their reports are not to be trust, in the past.

Last year, Trump nominated vaccine skeptic, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who, however, does not call himself an anti-vaxxer, to be the next health secretary of the US. In his victory speech, Trump also promised that he would let Kennedy "go wild" on food and health policy. Once RFK Jr. gets the Senate approval, he could be leading the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which has a $1.7 trillion budget.

The concern is that RFK Jr. works closely with many anti-vaccine activists who work for his nonprofit group Children's Health Defense. While in his recent speech, he said that he has "never been anti-vax and have never told the public to avoid vaccination", his track record shows otherwise.

Another health influencer is Alex Clark, who in her podcast Culture Apothecary promotes MAHA and is a firm believer that abortion is "never medically necessary to save the life of the mother" and does not trust "three-letter-agencies", like the FDA, CDC, and more.