The early months of Donald Trump’s second term have been marked by policy chaos—from abrupt tariff changes to sweeping executive orders—but behind the headlines lies a crisis quietly unfolding that could haunt America for generations: the dismantling of the country’s public health system.
According to health experts, the damage already done under Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is both undeniable and potentially irreversible. Key federal health institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) are facing deep budget and staffing cuts that threaten to unravel decades of progress in disease prevention, medical research, and emergency preparedness.
Dr. Ursula Bauer, a former CDC official, warns that rebuilding the system won’t be easy. “Highly skilled scientists and researchers have been pushed out of government roles—it could take decades to regain that expertise,” she said.
In a sweeping reduction effort, HHS has lost nearly 20,000 employees—a 25% drop. While Kennedy admits that up to 20% of these dismissals were mistakes and some staff are being reinstated, the uncertainty and disarray are palpable. Laboratories across the country are halting research due to missing personnel. Projects aimed at preventing future pandemics or improving vaccines have been paused or terminated. Even critical funding from the COVID era has been pulled back, affecting local health departments that rely on it to track diseases or provide addiction services.
These cuts are not just administrative; they directly affect people’s lives. For instance, the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health has been gutted, potentially reversing decades of progress against tobacco-related illnesses. Measles outbreaks are growing due to reduced field staff, and advanced vaccine research—like that at Rockefeller University—has stalled mid-project due to funding denial.
Top scientists warn that this trend could lead to a long-term brain drain. “Many brilliant researchers from around the world come here to work in science. That flow will stop if we keep slashing budgets,” says Paul Bieniasz, a virologist whose lab has already lost funding for a vaccine development project.
Even student researchers aren’t spared. Daniella Fodera, a PhD candidate at Columbia, saw her NIH fellowship terminated over what she describes as a politically motivated excuse tied to allegations unrelated to her work. “Science should be objective and apolitical, but it’s being weaponized to suppress voices and control academia,” she said.
The ripple effects are clear. Without consistent investment, young people may shy away from scientific careers. Global competitors like China are pouring resources into becoming biomedical leaders—just as the U.S. is tearing its infrastructure apart.
A letter signed by 2,000 scientists declares the situation an “SOS,” warning that attacks on science and research will decimate America’s global leadership in innovation. As former CDC acting director Richard Besser put it, “When public health works, you don’t notice it. But when it fails, the consequences are stark.”
If things don’t change soon, Americans could face more frequent disease outbreaks, slower medical advancements, and the loss of a health system once considered the best in the world.
