CDC data removals under Trump administration create blind spots for disease tracking and public health
The article examines how the Trump administration's removal of CDC webpages and public health data in January 2025 has created dangerous blind spots for disease tracking and prevention. It details how disappearing datasets — covering maternal health, influenza rates, blood lead levels, diabetes prevalence, and more — undermine the ability of researchers, local health departments, and communities to make evidence-based decisions. The piece argues that these data gaps erode public trust in health institutions and leave the country vulnerable to preventable health crises, from flu outbreaks to environmental hazards.
Key quotes
Public health relies on data – whether it is tracking the effectiveness of a given year's flu vaccine, monitoring blood lead levels around the country or estimating the prevalence of diabetes.
In January 2025, at the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term, webpages and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – and from many other federal agencies – began to disappear.
By interfering with how communities collect data and how researchers access it, the CDC risks undermining the hard-won trust needed for effective public health.
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