On February 15th, the Trump administration laid off 1300 people at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, downsizing this public health institution to cut costs for the entire federal government. According to informed sources, the number of layoffs this time accounts for about 10% of the total number of employees at the CDC, mainly targeting probationary employees who have served for two years or less. This is one of the first measures taken by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he was sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday, which oversees the Atlanta based CDC. It is not yet clear which departments of the institution have been affected by layoffs. But the CDC is working hard to track and contain various diseases, especially the outbreak of avian influenza. Nearly 70 people have been infected with avian influenza in the United States, and 1 person has died.
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