The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is reviving more than 450 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees who were fired in April as part of a major restructuring, including workers focused on HIV and childhood lead exposure.
A spokesperson for the HHS confirmed that the shooting was cancelled with the CDC’s National HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, National HIV for TB prevention, Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention. A further 71 people were returned to the director’s office, and a further 20 were returned to the Global Health Centre.
The return to work represents almost 20% of the 2,400 CDC employees HHS said in April had rejected it in mass reduction (RIF). The cuts also affected employees at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the U.S., but a spokesman for HHS said Wednesday’s recovery would only apply to CDC employees.
“Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, the country’s key public health functions remain intact and effective,” HHS Communications director Andrew Nixon said in a statement. “The Trump administration is committed to protecting critical services whether to support coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, protecting public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most common infectious diseases.
“HHS streamlines operations without compromising mission-critical work,” he continued. “Improve the health and well-being of all Americans remains our number one priority.”
Fox News previously reported recovery.
Cut wiped out the CDC’s childhood lead poisoning prevention and surveillance department while helping the city of Milwaukee deal with the lead exposure crisis in public schools. The shooting meant that the CDC had to reject requests from the city to help. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was repeatedly pressed by reporters and lawmakers about the situation and said he had no intention of removing the branch.
On Wednesday, the entire lead team was rehired along with the parent group, the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Practice, according to newly revived director Dr. Eric Svenden.
“You have previously received a notice regarding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Future Reductions (RIF),” read an email to a revived employee taken by CNN, who had been taking administrative leave since the notice of their layoff. “That notification has been revoked by this. You will not be affected by any future RIFs.”