Measles surged in Texas early 2025, producing the worst U.S. outbreak in over three decades. In the month after Donald Trump took office, administration actions interfered with CDC communications, stalled reports, censored data, and led to abrupt staff layoffs. Those measures fostered fear and restraint among CDC scientists and delayed emergency response efforts, leaving local public health workers feeling isolated. Local officials in Lubbock reported lack of CDC outreach; a child died before CDC scientists contacted local health leaders. Undervaccinated communities faced catastrophic consequences from response delays, according to interviews and public records.
In the month after Donald Trump took office, his administration interfered with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention communications, stalled the agency's reports, censored its data, and abruptly laid off staff. In the chaos, CDC experts felt restrained from talking openly with local public health workers, according to interviews with seven CDC officials with direct knowledge of events, as well as local health department emails obtained by KFF Health News through public records requests.
A child would die before CDC scientists contacted Wells. Related Story By firing all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine panel, RFK Jr. has imperiled vaccine access in the US, critics say. All of us at CDC train for this moment, a massive outbreak," one CDC researcher told KFF Health News, which agreed not to name CDC officials who fear retaliation for speaking with the press. "All this training and then we weren't allowed to do anything.
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