With Donald Trump, a Republican, returning to the White House, American doctors and researchers are facing unfamiliar challenges due to unavailable epidemiological information, absent medical guidance, and undetected tuberculosis cases.
AFP Natalie DiCenzo, a gynecologist and member of the Physicians for Reproductive Health professional association, stated that the current situation has never been seen before, causing “panic and uncertainty” among the medical and scientific community.
Many health professionals, like her, are worried about the new government’s decision to halt communications from federal health agencies and revamp their websites.
Pages on the CDC website are being updated to adhere to President Trump’s executive orders, specifically regarding diversity policies.
Several databases related to prolonged covid-19, depression, racist prejudice in medicine, and gender have recently gone missing.
DiCenzo expressed curiosity about the elimination of the recommendations regarding sexually transmitted infections. He found it ironic that there was a perception of a radical left-leaning approach to treating gonorrhea.
Some pages, particularly those related to avian flu, reappeared following a short break, whereas an app intended for healthcare workers vanished from the app stores, leading to significant confusion.
Tuberculosis and bird flu –
The main concerns include a lack of clarity regarding the removal or alteration of information and the shutdown of crucial external communications.
Jennifer Nuzzo, a Brown University epidemiology professor, worries that public health policy is being shaped by politicians rather than scientists.
CDCs were unable to communicate with local health authorities about the avian flu outbreak, which has resulted in a human death in the US and is spreading among birds and animals, as reported by AFP.
One of the biggest tuberculosis outbreaks in recent history of the nation is currently centered in Kansas and should have been covered in CDC reports on epidemiology, according to him.
Since Trump took office on January 20, the regular release of these fundamental documents, which has been ongoing for over 60 years, has been disrupted. This interruption has fueled growing uncertainty, according to Nuzzo.
Rebecca Christofferson, a researcher at Louisiana State University, questioned the reliability of data from the CDC and whether information might be concealed.
Manually
The scientific community started to take action to address this unique situation.
Caitlin Rivers, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University, mentioned that she was manually gathering data two weeks ago to maintain consistent monitoring of avian flu transmission.
Several individuals, including feminist activist Jessica Valenti, made efforts to save data and pages from the CDC website that had been removed.
She told AFP that hope is meant to be a source of support for those who require it.
At present, we should not depend on these establishments for assistance. DiCenzo suggested that researchers and health experts should draw motivation from activists, such as LGBTQIA+ and abortion rights groups, who have been active for many years.
It is important to uphold the priority of maintaining equality for all in the face of the Trump administration’s discriminatory actions against transgender and non-binary individuals, as well as reproductive rights.
DiCenzo states that the scientific and academic community is resourceful and will discover alternative methods for sharing information if needed.