CDC is Pulling Back $11B in Covid Funding Sent to Health Departments Across the US; HHS Closing Long COVID Office: — Closure is Part of the Trump Administration’s “reorganization”, and other C-Virus related stories

CDC is pulling back $11B in Covid funding sent to health departments across the U.S.

“Now that the pandemic is over, the grants and cooperative agreements are no longer necessary,” federal health authorities wrote to funding recipients this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pulling back $11.4 billion in funds allocated in response to the pandemic to state and community health departments, nongovernment organizations and international recipients, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Tuesday.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” HHS Director of Communications Andrew Nixon said in a statement. “HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again.”

HHS oversees 13 agencies, including CDC, which is tasked with protecting the nation’s health. Notices began going out Monday and awardees have 30 days to reconcile their expenditures. Figures are subject to change.

The funding slash comes on the heels of other cuts under new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including the canceling of hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for research into vaccine hesitancy, LGBTQ populations and supporting HIV prevention.

“Now that the pandemic is over, the grants and cooperative agreements are no longer necessary as their limited purpose has run out,” read notices of termination sent to grantees on Monday and shared with NBC News.

The federal public health emergency ended May 11, 2023, but more than 1.2 million Americans have died from Covid according to the CDC. Though infection has slowed and the disease has become milder, hundreds of people still die every week from Covid, and long Covid symptoms continue to cause debilitating medical problems in some cases. —>READ MORE HERE

HHS Closing Long COVID Office:

— Closure is part of the Trump administration’s “reorganization”

The Office of Long COVID Research and Practice will close as soon as this week, according to an internal HHS email obtained by Inside Medicine. The authenticity of the email was confirmed by a government employee familiar with the situation. The email states that this action is related to the Trump administration’s “reorganization,” but little else has been shared.

Here is the text of the email:

“Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to let you know that the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice will be closing as part of the administration’s reorganization coming this week. We are proud of what we have accomplished together in advancing understanding, resources, and support for people living with Long COVID.

Over the last 3+ years, we have built meaningful connections and fruitful collaborations across the federal landscape to support this work. While our office is closing, we hope that the work we have been dedicated to will continue in some form. Updates will be shared as they become available.

Thank you again for your collaboration and commitment.

Best regards,

Ian Simon, PhD

Director, Office of Long COVID Research and Practice

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

et al…”

The move is both expected and unexpected. Any project of the Biden administration would seem to be ripe as a target, regardless whether the work has been successful or not. On the other hand, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that he wishes to focus on chronic diseases, and long COVID certainly is one. —>READ MORE HERE

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