Report: CDC Ordered to Stop Working With WHO

By Jay Kumar

U.S. public health officials have been ordered to stop working with the World Health Organization (WHO) immediately, according to the Associated Press.

Sunday night, a memo was sent by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official John Nkengasong to senior leaders at the CDC informing them that all staff must halt collaborations with the WHO and await further guidance, the AP reported.

The AP also noted that experts were surprised by the news, which they said would negatively impact research and efforts to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus and mpox in Africa, as well as other potential viral threats worldwide. The order also comes as health officials monitor bird flu outbreaks among U.S. livestock.

Last week, President Trump issued an executive order to being the process of the U.S. withdrawing from the WHO. Leaving the organization requires the approval of Congress and the U.S. meeting its financial obligations for the current fiscal year, as well as providing one year’s notice, according to the AP.

The Trump administration last week also ordered a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month; agencies subject to the order include the CDC, the National Institutes of Health. and the Food and Drug Administration. The pause was ordered on regulations, guidance, announcements, press releases, social media posts, and website posts until they were approved by a political appointee; it also applies to anything intended for publication in the Federal Register and the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.