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Key CDC Health Websites Vanish Following Trump Orders

By India Edwards HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 3, 2025.

via HealthDay

MONDAY, Feb. 3, 2025 -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken down multiple health-related websites and datasets, including those on HIV, LGBTQ health and more, following executive orders from the Trump administration.

The orders require federal agencies to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and to recognize only two biological sexes: male and female.

A Jan. 29 memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management directed agencies to remove “all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology" by Jan. 31, CNN reported.

As of Friday, several CDC resources were removed, including:

A senior health official told CNN that the CDC staff was warned that failing to comply with the orders could have consequences.

“In the process, large swaths of data and science will be unavailable for an undetermined period,” the senior health official said. “Regardless of your comfort with the idea of trans people, you should be terrified that the government is purging truth and science to fit an ideology, because what’s next?”

Public health experts say the removal of these resources could have serious consequences for healthcare providers.

“The removal of HIV- and LGBTQ-related resources from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies is deeply concerning and creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks,” Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Iinfectious Diseases Society of America, and Dr. Colleen Kelley, chair of the HIV Medicine Association, said in a statement.

While some public health organizations and activists have called for the immediate restoration of these resources, others are archiving CDC data altogether.

The Association of Health Care Journalists also sent a formal letter to Acting HHS Secretary Dr. Dorothy Fink and Acting CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, requesting that the sites be restored.

The missing data, they wrote, is “crucial” for informing the public about issues such as “smoking, vaping, drinking, eating, exercise, and sexual behavior,” the association’s leaders wrote in the letter obtained by CNN.

Sources

  • CNN, media report, Jan. 31, 2025
  • Joint statement, HIV Medicine Association and Infectious Diseases Society of America, Jan. 31, 2025

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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