The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) exists to provide immediate, actionable information during outbreaks (e.g., measles, Ebola, dengue), product recalls, and other emergencies. This enables health professionals and the public to take protective measures, such as vaccination, avoiding certain foods, or seeking medical care. However, in recent months, the United States has seen the continued spread of infectious diseases such as measles, salmonella, listeria, and hepatitis A and C. And despite these ongoing health threats, the CDC has sharply reduced its public communications and warnings compared to previous years.
While the CDC has posted some recent outbreak alerts, such as a May 20 warning about a salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers, these communications are now sporadic and far less comprehensive than in the past. The overall decline in CDC public warnings and outreach remains a significant concern among public health experts and agency staff.
Since January 2025, many of the CDC’s regular communication platforms—including newsletters, health alerts, and social media—have either gone silent or seen drastically reduced activity. The CDC’s Health Alert Network, a primary tool for sharing urgent outbreak information with health professionals, has not issued any alerts since March 2025, despite ongoing outbreaks.
What about correspondence via social media?
The CDC’s main social media accounts, which previously reached millions, have been largely inactive for over a month. The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a key resource for outbreak and disease updates, experienced unprecedented publication gaps at critical times.
So, What’s Going On?
Could this have anything to do with the Trump Administration’s sweeping cutbacks at the CDC since early 2025, resulting in significant workforce reductions, major budget cuts, and the elimination of key public health programs?
Answer: Yes.
The U.S. is currently facing a concerning decline in service quality, largely due to the Trump Administration’s dismantling of essential government infrastructure. Although there may be limited complaints at present, expect this situation could significantly impact public health in the future.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took direct control over CDC communications when the Trump administration began its term in January 2025. Public health communication now needs HHS review, which has created substantial delays and bottlenecks. A government “reduction in force” which took place on April 1 resulted in the dismissal of thousands of federal health workers, including the majority of CDC staff tasked with media operations and digital communications. The CDC could no longer operate its primary communication platforms.
Talk about bureaucracy… CDC scientists and communicators need authorization for almost every external message they create, but the review process approves less than half of them, including time-sensitive outbreak updates.
Lovely.
The slowdown in communication processes has created delays ranging from weeks to months for distributing essential health information. Routine health updates, including hospitalization statistics during disease outbreaks, frequently fail to reach healthcare workers and the general population.
Experts caution that delayed CDC alerts might result in fatal outcomes. Without authoritative alerts, communities face delayed responses to disease outbreaks, while pregnant individuals, unaware of the listeria danger, experience severe health outcomes.
The situation became more critical because the CDC failed to provide dependable updates, which produced an information void that heightened misinformation risks and weakened trust in health advice.
Summary Table: CDC Communication Changes in 2025
| Platform/Channel | Status Since Jan 2025 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Health Alert Network | No alerts since March | Previously key for urgent outbreak notifications |
| Newsletters | Distribution stopped | Covered chronic and emerging disease topics |
| Social Media | Mostly inactive | Now requires HHS approval for all posts |
| Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report | Publication gaps, delays | Missed critical outbreak periods |
| CDC Media/Records Staff | Mass layoffs | Severely reduced capacity for public outreach |
Conclusion
CDC alerts have been the cornerstone of the nation’s public health defense, providing timely, accurate, and actionable information that saves lives by preventing disease, guiding clinicians, and empowering the public to protect themselves during health emergencies. Their reduced public warnings and communication capacity during ongoing disease outbreaks is the result of federal oversight, mass layoffs, and new approval requirements. Experts warn that these changes could delay critical health information, increase risks to public safety, and undermine the nation’s ability to respond to health emergencies.