50 canceled vaccination clinics, and other local impact from HHS cuts

Just last week, the leader of public health in Dallas had to cancel 50 vaccination clinics, including events specifically targeting schools with low immunization rates, all while the West Texas measles outbreak continues to flare.

Then on Tuesday came the layoffs of thousands of Health and Human Services employees. The “reduction in force” included many who staffed the agencies that supply information, expertise, and funding to local health departments that need data, dollars, and boots on the ground to do the work of preventing disease and responding to public health emergencies. The hits taken by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loom large in the cities, states, and counties that depend on the expertise and information that have been reliably supplied over the years.

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