Trump administration to chop $11.4 billion in COVID funding from native well being departments
Federal well being officers mentioned they’re slicing $11.4 billion in COVID-19-related funds for state and native public well being departments — cash that was was largely used for COVID-19 testing, virus analysis and neighborhood well being jobs.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will not waste billions of taxpayer {dollars} responding to a non-existent pandemic that People moved on from years in the past,” the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies mentioned in a press release Tuesday.
The assertion mentioned the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention expects to recuperate the cash starting 30 days after termination notices, which started being despatched out on Monday. The transfer was first reported by NBC Information.
“This is only one in a collection of many, many cuts we’re seeing throughout well being companies throughout the nation,” Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS Information medical contributor and editor-at-large for public well being at KFF Well being Information, mentioned on CBS Information 24/7 on Wednesday.
“This … is cash that had been going to state, native, territorial, tribal well being departments throughout the nation, and as we all know, as was the case with numerous COVID funding, it was not simply supporting COVID-related applications, however many different issues,” she mentioned, noting wastewater surveillance as one instance of what is being misplaced with these cuts, which helps consultants search for infectious ailments and different toxins within the water.
“This has direct purposes to the measles outbreak in West Texas proper now. It offers us an early warning system for the place there could be measles in different areas, the place they must be focusing measles vaccinations, and that program is falling sufferer to this,” Gounder mentioned. “And state (and) native well being departments actually rely on that CDC cash. The CDC features as a funnel of funding to the state and native stage, and in some circumstances, it is 90% of their funds.”
Lori Freeman, CEO of the Nationwide Affiliation of County and Metropolis Well being Officers, mentioned a lot of the funding was set to finish quickly anyway. “It is ending within the subsequent six months,” she mentioned. “There is not any purpose — why rescind it now? It is simply merciless and weird conduct.”
Minnesota Commissioner of Well being Dr. Brooke Cunningham mentioned in a press release, “We realized yesterday that the federal authorities has unilaterally terminated roughly $226 million in grants to Minnesota Division of Well being associated to the COVID-19 pandemic. This termination is efficient instantly and impacts ongoing work and contracts. This motion was sudden and surprising.”
She added, “It would take time to determine all the impacts of this motion, however these cuts are an incredible loss — made worse by the uncertainty and chaos that our federal companions have launched into this course of.”
In a associated transfer, greater than two dozen COVID-related analysis grants funded by the Nationwide Institutes of Well being have been canceled. Earlier this month, the Trump administration shut down ordering from covidtest.gov, the positioning the place People might have COVID-19 assessments delivered to their mailboxes for no cost.
Though the COVID federal public well being emergency has ended, the virus continues to be killing People: 458 individuals per week on common have died from COVID over the previous 4 weeks, in line with CDC knowledge.
HHS would not present many particulars about how the federal authorities expects to recuperate the cash from what it known as “impacted recipients.” However HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon mentioned in an e-mail: “The $11.4 billion is undisbursed funds remaining.”
Freeman mentioned her understanding is that state well being departments already had the COVID cash.
“The funding was approved by Congress, was appropriated by Congress, and it was out the door, principally, into the arms of the grantees” — states, she mentioned, which resolve methods to distribute it domestically.
Beneath each the primary Trump administration and the Biden administration, billions of {dollars} was allotted for COVID response by laws, together with a COVID aid invoice and the American Rescue Plan Act.
