Trump's orders sow chaos in global public health

A recent flurry of executive orders and surprise actions by the Trump administration have roiled the international public health community, leaving healthcare workers scrambling and aid programs in peril. 

On January 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order pausing U.S. foreign development assistance for 90 days to assess “programmatic efficiencies and consistency.” The ripple effects spread immediately. On January 24, the State Department put out a stop-work order halting foreign aid work. And on January 27, the Trump administration placed dozens of officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave. 

All members of the Environmental Protection Agency’s boards of outside advisers on science and clean air were dismissed in a letter emailed late Tuesday, an unusual step the Trump administration said was aimed at depoliticizing the panels.

Panel members expressed disappointment and confusion at the assertion in the letter signed by James Payne, a career EPA attorney Trump installed as acting administrator. Critics charged the Trump administration with politicizing the process by eliminating the current independent advisers and clearing the way for them to be replaced with hand-picked appointees.

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VA study shows COVID more severe than RSV, flu Primary outcomes included rates of 30-day hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death, as well as the secondary outcome of long-term death extending through 180 days. CIDRAP

A large study of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that, during the 2022 to 2023 season, having COVID-19 was associated with more severe disease outcomes than flu or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Differences became less pronounced, however, during the 2023 to 2024 season. 

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