The CDC has ended its healthcare infection control practices advisory committee to comply with President Donald Trump’s “continuing the reduction of the federal bureaucracy” executive order, a spokesperson for HHS confirmed in a May 8 statement shared with Becker’s.
The committee advised federal health leaders, including HHS and the CDC, on best strategies and practices for preventing and controlling antimicrobial resistance and infections in areas of healthcare such as home health, long-term care, outpatient clinics and hospitals, according to the CDC’s website.
“This [executive order] required the assistant to the president for national security affairs, the assistant to the president for economic policy, and the assistant to the president for domestic policy to identify and submit to the president unnecessary governmental entities and Federal Advisory Committees that should be terminated on grounds that they are unnecessary,” the statement said.
The news comes after CDC restructuring and funding cuts have led to the disruption of public health programs such as Atlanta-based Emory University’s Together TakeMeHome, which mails HIV self-tests for free. On April 23, the CDC informed Emory that because of staffing shortages at the agency, the program’s funding would end Sept. 29 after the existing grant year ends.
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