Trump Administration Orders Removal of CDC Websites and Data Sets

According to a Jan. 31 article from CNN, several of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) websites and data sets pertaining to HIV, LGBTQ individuals, youth health behaviors, and more have been removed by the agency, as directed by executive orders from President Trump.

The article said, “Trump’s orders require elimination of federal DEI programs and require the government to recognize two sexes: male and female. Guidance issued in a January 29 memo from the US Office of Personnel Management directs agency heads to remove “all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology” by 5 p.m. Friday [Jan. 31].”

A Jan. 31 article from NPR reported, “On Friday, however, many pages that did not seem related to ‘gender’ or ‘diversity’ had also been taken down, such as AtlasPlus, an interactive tool from CDC with surveillance data on HIV, viral hepatitis, STDs and TB. Also gone missing: a page with basic information about HIV testing. The CDC's Social Vulnerability Index, a tool that assesses community resilience in the event of natural disaster was also taken down.”

Further, the article from NPR stated, “One striking example of the vanishing information: The CDC pulled down the website that houses data collected by the nation's largest monitoring program on health-related behaviors among high schoolers.

“Pages related to the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, which administers the program, were also unavailable.”

CNN also reported that as the situation developed, activists took to social media encouraging individuals to archive CDC data.

“In a letter to Acting HHS Secretary Dr. Dorothy Fink and Acting CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, the Association of Health Care Journalists requested that the sites be restored immediately,” the article said. “The missing datasets are ‘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.”

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) issued the following statement attributed to Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP, president, IDSA and Colleen Kelley, MD, MPH, FIDSA, chair, HIVMA:

“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. Access to this information is crucial for infectious diseases and HIV health care professionals who care for people with HIV and members of the LGBTQ community and is critical to efforts to end the HIV epidemic. This is especially important as diseases such as HIV, mpox, sexually transmitted infections and other illnesses threaten public health and impact the entire population. Timely and accurate information from the CDC guides clinical practice and policies, which are essential for controlling infections and safeguarding health.”