The VA and CDC will terminate thousands of healthcare workers.

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to cut 80,000 health workers this year, according to a report from the Associated Press. Additionally, at least 550 public health workers have already been fired by the CDC. This includes 180 people who were re-employed after being let go by the Trump administration last month. Health and Human Services also provided voluntary acquisitions to allow employees to resign from work. The cuts will come as part of President Trump's agenda to cut costs and make the federal government more efficient.

Below are the unintended consequences that arise from a large-scale layoff in the federal healthcare sector.

Erosion of public trust in science

With thousands of public health workers set up to be fired, the message to the public is very clear. These workers are not essential or critical of America's well-being. When public health experts are rejected, they may send a message that their expertise is not valued, which can result in public questioning the validity of organizations themselves, such as the CDC and VA. The loss of expert voices weakens the perceived authority of the system in the eyes of the public.

These workers are essential to protecting the health of all Americans. The VA Healthcare System serves at least 9 million veterans. This is an individual who sacrificed his life for the freedom of all Americans. Additionally, the CDC is important in providing life-saving information to the public regarding disease prevention and controlling public health threats such as the outbreak of infectious diseases. Some timely examples include the outbreak of avian flu and measles in Texas and New Mexico.

weakens disease surveillance

Reducing CDC personnel in particular threatens our ability to monitor and respond to public health threats. CDC employees can help identify and control the outbreak of diseases such as natural PO and Covid-19. Without adequate CDC staff, our ability to track critical diseases pose future threats, such as avian flu, is at risk.

The current respiratory disease surveillance system in the United States is already suboptimal. As an example, consider how difficult it is to identify the number of 19 COVID-19 cases in a county or community last week. This type of information must be transparent to the public to enable informed public health decisions. The American respiratory monitoring system has no centralization and standardization and should be a driving force for hiring more employees.

Prevents the appearance of healthcare leaders

The leader is not created overnight or in a vacuum. Instead, long-standing services and critical knowledge are required to acquire healthcare and public health expertise. Part of the CDC fellowship programs, such as the Epidemic Intelligence Service and the Public Health Associate program, are geared towards providing the expertise needed to become a leader in disease detection and prevention. Many of these peers continue to serve local, state, federal and federal government positions that are specifically directed at diagnostic testing of disease, controlling outbreaks, and communicating effective precautions, so that all Americans can remain healthy.

With fewer CDC employees, fewer American employees are working as public health leaders. The types of training and skills received at the CDC are difficult, if not impossible, to receive at other venues. Few CDC workers mean fewer public health professionals responding to the new health crisis. The US has not had enough crisis, given that the flu has resulted in at least 21,000 deaths, and that it has resulted in already reported deaths from measles in Texas and avian influenza in Louisiana.

Fewer VA workers means fewer people are capable of leading one of the largest healthcare systems in America. The VA has been a pillar of veteran health for over a century. Additionally, the lack of VA employees means that veterans wait longer, delay or miss diagnosis, and worsen health outcomes.

It allows misinformation to skyrocket

With the rise of social media, misinformation can be propagated at an unprecedented level. Furthermore, the federal government is not spared from spreading misinformation. For example, Robert Kennedy Jr., secretary to the Department of Health and Human Services, focused on the use of steroids and antibiotics in helping to treat measles against the vaccine in a recent interview with Fox News. The vaccine is the only intervention that has been proven to prevent measles, with one dose providing 93% protection against the disease.

With fewer CDC staff, the agency's ability to develop timely, clear public health guidance will be reduced. This creates a key gap in public health information that can be quickly filled by misinformation from social media and conspiracy theorists. Furthermore, labor cuts reduce the capacity to monitor, identify and rebellious misinformation in a timely manner.

In light of all healthcare workers' layoffs, we all need to ask ourselves the following questions: Do these layoffs hurt or strengthen our happiness?