IDSA Warns Mass CDC and HHS Layoffs May Compromise Public Health

More than 4100 federal workers, including key United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) staff, were laid off on Friday, October 10, 2025, with approximately 700 reinstated shortly thereafter. These layoffs prompted warnings from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) about potential risks to public health.

Government staff received notice of the layoffs after 9:00 PM Friday, October 10, 2025, on a holiday weekend.¹ Workers who were affected by the reductions took to social media to raise concern that this action during a government shutdown was particularly damaging, as the shutdown made accessing information about their severance difficult.¹

Among the federal workers who were fired, between 1100 and 1200 were from the HHS, including staff at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), and every staff member at the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).¹

If the gutting of our public health infrastructure and workforce is allowed to continue, Americans will be sicker, health care costs will rise and many more people will die from preventable illnesses.

The reductions come at the beginning of the winter influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and COVID-19 seasons, when vaccination campaigns ramp up and viral-associated hospitalizations and deaths surge — precisely when public health experts are needed to control viral outbreaks.¹ Further, the elimination of all staff at the CDC’s journal means that CDC scientists will be unable to rapidly communicate vital public health information, which will reduce agency transparency.¹

In reaction to the firings, the American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit against the United States Office of Management and Budget on Friday, October 10, 2025, asking for a temporary restraining order on the firings.^1,2

On Saturday, October 11, 2025, approximately 700 of the employees who had received notice of termination on Friday were reinstated.³

According to the HHS, the reinstated employees were fired in error, including some of those from the NCIRD, CDC EIS, and MMWR.³ The Infectious Disease Advisor team reached out to the HHS Press Office for a comment and received the following response: “The employees who received incorrect notifications were never separated from the agency and have all been notified that they are not subject to the reduction in force. All HHS employees receiving reduction-in-force notices were designated non-essential by their respective divisions.”

In a press release from the IDSA published on Monday, October 13, 2025, the organization labeled the act of firing and rehiring staff at HHS “a completely reckless act that may compromise the health of all Americans.”⁴

The IDSA noted that, even before these staffing cuts, there had been interruptions to laboratory testing, expert analyses, and accurate and timely communication from the CDC that the public has relied upon for nearly 8 decades.⁴

The IDSA stated, “If the gutting of our public health infrastructure and workforce is allowed to continue, Americans will be sicker, health care costs will rise and many more people will die from preventable illnesses.” They added, “We call for the reversal of these dangerous firings, and for Congress to move quickly to pass full-year spending bills that ensure that proposed cuts to public health are averted and federal appropriations are spent as Congress intended for the health and security of our nation.”

This article originally appeared on Infectious Disease Advisor