95% of CDC workers say Americans will die because of federal cuts to the agency

When Michigan State University researchers anonymously surveyed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staffers, 99% of respondents said that federal policy changes, dramatic reductions in staff and programs, and unstable or leadership have hobbled the agency’s ability to respond to a pandemic or other public health emergency—and 95% think Americans will die as a result.

In total, 624 workers (433 still in their positions, 191 who quit) responded to the survey from February to April. 

“Since the second Trump Administration took over leadership of the U.S. federal government on January 20, 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has undergone significant changes and challenges, including lack of permanent leadership, elimination of programs, reductions-in-force and loss of staff, a deadly shooting, new policies, and restrictions on hiring, communication, and spending,” the authors wrote.

96% doubt that CDC can remain global leader

Of all respondents, 95% of those who quit said they did so entirely or mostly because of federal changes, and 68% of current workers have taken action to leave (eg, applied for another job).

The difficulties described by CDC workers portend a U.S. government losing its ability to protect the public’s health.

In total, 94% said their unit has been so weakened that it can no longer achieve its mission, and 96% doubt that the CDC can remain a global public health leader.

In an open-ended answer, a CDC scientist wrote,” The safety and health of the U.S. population will suffer, but it will be hard to quantify because they have compromised our ability to collect the data to demonstrate the impact of what they have done.”

A former manager said, “The anti-vaccine, anti-science stance of this Administration meant that I could no longer in good conscience continue to work there given the type of work that I did.”

The researchers concluded, “The difficulties described by CDC workers portend a U.S. government losing its ability to protect the public’s health.”

People who received flu shots 40% less likely to test positive for influenza, new data show

A new study finds that flu shots were associated with moderate protection against the virus during the 2024-25 flu season.

People vaccinated against influenza that season were 40% less likely to test positive for flu than unvaccinated people, according to a study of more than 1.1 million Californians.

Adults aged 65 and older who tested positive for flu were 29% less likely to die of an influenza-related cause if they had received the vaccine, according to the study, published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. The study included flu-related deaths within 30 days of testing.

“These findings are consistent with protection against severe and fatal influenza among people vaccinated against influenza,” the study authors wrote.

A ‘high severity’ flu season

The analysis comes from a case-control study of people aged 6 months or older who were tested for influenza from October 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025, which was considered a “high severity” flu season, with the highest rate of influenza-associated hospitalizations in 24 years.

Flu caused an estimated 610,000 to 1.3 million hospitalizations that season, along with 27,000 to 130,000 deaths, according to the study, led by the California Department of Public Health.

The flu killed 289 children that year, surpassing the previous record set during the 2009 to 2010 season, which was marked by the H1N1 flu epidemic.

Public health experts recommend annual flu shots to reduce the risk of illness, hospitalization, and death.