CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health

Editors’ note: As of Monday, Feb. 17, members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service program who had been warned they were to be fired had not received termination letters.

The Trump administration’s campaign to slash the federal civil service seemed poised to hit one of the crown jewels of global public health on Friday. Members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a legendary training program run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were warned on Friday morning that most of them were about to be fired, two people with knowledge of the meeting told STAT.

The 135 members of the two-year EIS program were informed that most would be hearing of their dismissals by late day. But the notices did not come Friday or Saturday, several sources said, leaving these employees uncertain whether their jobs were safe, or if the bad news was yet to come. 

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