U.S. Government response to multistate measles outbreak hampered by job, grant cuts, experts say

Response to multistate measles outbreak hampered by unique set of challenges | CNN The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the ground in Texas for the second time this year, as an ongoing multistate measles outbreak centered in the western part of the state has grown to one of the worst the country has seen in decades. Deidre McPhillips, Neha Mukherjee, Meg Tirrell CNN

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But recent threats confronting public health have made the response to the outbreak more challenging than it may have otherwise been, experts say.

HHS announced sweeping layoffs last week, including an estimated 2,400 from the CDC. The CDC also pulled back over $11 billion in grants to state and local health departments that were allocated during the Covid-19 pandemic but that local departments say were being used to respond to other public health threats, including the measles outbreak.

As a result of federal funding cuts, New Mexico – which has reported 56 measles cases as part of the outbreak – terminated contracts for 20 temporary workers who were helping order vaccines and check vaccination records.

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