In this edition of AcademyHealth’s Situation Report, we examine widespread layoffs across agencies, including at HHS and CDC that could further disrupt research funding, data collection, and infrastructure. Meanwhile, federal review of childhood vaccine schedules and vaccine ingredients concerns experts at a time when trust in both the CDC and Secretary Kennedy are declining, according to a recent KFF poll. These shifts highlight the need for health services researchers to build trust and communicate the evidence clearly. Situation Report readers can get involved with AcademyHealth’s advocacy efforts by applying for our public policy advisory committee and health policy fellowship. Registration is also now open for an AcademyHealth virtual course on building trust and overcoming misinformation.
In today’s issue:
- Mass HHS Layoffs Occur Amid Shutdown, Some Reinstatements Follow
- Citing “Vaccine Hesitancy,” the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Announces Workgroup to Look into Childhood Vaccines
- New Poll Unveils Low Public Confidence in CDC, Tylenol-Autism Link
- Study Reveals Emergency Medicaid Costs Less than One Percent Total Expenditures
- Help Guide AcademyHealth's Advocacy and Policy Priorities
Mass HHS Layoffs Occur Amid Shutdown, Some Reinstatements Follow
On Friday, more than 1,300 federal employees at Health and Human Services (HHS) were fired as part of a broader mass firing strategy in which 4,000 federal employees across agencies were let go. While official numbers are unavailable, anecdotal reports suggest that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was specifically impacted by this reduction in force (RIF). However, by as soon as Saturday evening, some of these terminations were rescinded, with claims that some employees were emailed due to coding errors in their job classifications. These cuts follow guidance issued by the Office of Personnel Management prior to the shutdown to allow human resources staff to continue processing previously planned RIFs.
Despite the rescission of approximately 700 of these RIF notices, this mass firing is a cause of deep concern, especially for health services researchers, about the continued capacity of key federal health agencies ability to deliver essential services. Notably, the initial terminations included staff responsible for producing the CDC’s flagship Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which disseminates critical public health data. While the MMWR team’s RIFs were of the terminations reversed, this potential disruption to the MMWR underscores the broader risks to the health research infrastructure. For health services researchers, the implications of these layoffs are serious and affect the federal health research workforce. Not only can federal agencies lose key team members who collect, analyze, and share essential data underpinning health research infrastructure but they also can lose the civil servants who are responsible for managing grants which can further slow funds and research.
In a recent blog post, AcademyHealth delves deeper into these RIF actions, clarifying they are not a consequence of the shutdown but part of the administration’s broader strategy. To learn more about the legality of these actions as well as the implications for health services researchers, read the blog post here.
Citing “Vaccine Hesitancy,” the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Announces Workgroup to Look into Childhood Vaccines
On Thursday, October 8, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the CDC announced a workgroup to review the safety and efficacy of shots in childhood vaccine schedule. The Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule Workgroup will review data and provide recommendations related to the timing and combination of childhood vaccines and potential risks associated with common vaccine ingredients, such as aluminum. According to ACIP, the workgroup was created in response to recent vaccine technologies and ingredients and the increase in vaccine hesitancy.
While addressing vaccine hesitancy is an important goal, many worry that this move could fuel skepticism. The workgroup was announced three weeks after the administration’s press conference in which officials claimed – without evidence – that Tylenol and combination vaccines cause autism. During that briefing, President Trump called for removing certain ingredients, such as mercury and aluminum, despite evidence that these limited-use vaccine preservatives and immune-enhancing ingredients, respectively, are safe.
The timing of the workgroup’s formation also raised questions. It came only a week after the CDC adopted ACIP’s updated schedule for the COVID and MMRV/varicella vaccines. Based on comments from the Acting CDC Director’s comments, the workgroup may revisit the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine—specifically, whether to separate it into three individual (“monovalent”) shots. However, there is no evidence that individual MMR vaccines offer any benefit over the combined version. In fact, no monovalent MMR vaccines are currently approved by the FDA or produced by any manufacturer. Merck, the sole U.S. producer of MMR vaccines, stopped making monovalent versions in 2009. Public health officials warn that shifting from a combined MMR vaccine to three separate ones would lead to significant disruptions in vaccine access, increased health care costs, diminished trust in public health, and further confusion around vaccine safety.
New Poll Unveils Low Public Confidence in CDC, Tylenol-Autism Link
Public trust in the CDC has reached an all-time low since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) mere days after President Trump claimed that acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy causes autism. The poll showed that only 18 percent of over 1,300 adults expressed having “a great deal” of trust in the CDC with an additional 32 percent indicating a “fair amount” of trust, showing a stark decline in comparison to 57 percent in July 2025 and 63 percent in September 2023. While public trust in the CDC and HHS Secretary Kennedy has declined, public trust in professional associations such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has remained intact with trust levels in the mid to upper 60s. Both the AMA and AAP were eliminated from federal vaccine work groups this year.
For the field of health services research, these findings underscore an urgent need to rebuild public trust in evidence-based institutions. Researchers and health leaders can play a key role in restoring confidence by communicating clearly, transparently, and with empathy.
AcademyHealth’s Communicating to Build Trust course—now open for registration—offers practical tools for researchers to strengthen credibility, convey complex findings effectively, and foster public confidence in science.
Study Reveals Emergency Medicaid Costs Less than One Percent Total Expenditures
One of the main issues sustaining the federal government’s shutdown is emergency Medicaid spending; however, a study published late last week found that it constitutes less than one percent of the federal health insurance program’s total expenses. While current law already prohibits non-U.S. citizens from utilizing federally subsidized health care coverage, emergency Medicaid is an exception for emergency care, including childbirth, for immigrants who would qualify for Medicaid if they were U.S. citizens. Democrats introduced a bill to counter Medicaid cuts proposed by Republicans that would not change the existing law but would seek to cover “lawfully present” individuals, or individuals who are determined by the federal government to be lawfully present, but who have not been given formal legal status that could be enforced in court.
This study exemplifies the power of evidence in policy debates. Health services researchers are in a unique position to provide context, historical background, and data to conversations around largescale health policy decisions, such as those around emergency Medicaid and budget reconciliation writ large.
Help Guide AcademyHealth's Advocacy and Policy Priorities
Serve on our Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy (CAPP)
AcademyHealth is seeking applications for individuals to serve on its Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy (CAPP), an advisory committee of the Board of Directors that is tasked with advising the Board and AcademyHealth staff on the development of the organization’s guiding principles and policy priorities, formulation of policy positions, and implementation of advocacy strategies. Applicants must be an individual or organizational member of AcademyHealth to serve on the CAPP. AcademyHealth will accept one student to serve on the committee in a non-voting capacity, so students with an interest in health policy and advocacy are encouraged to apply. Elected individuals will begin their term in February 2026 and will serve one year. To nominate yourself or someone else to serve on the Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy, fill out the nomination form here by Friday, October 24, 2025.
Apply to Become an AcademyHealth Public Policy Fellow
AcademyHealth is currently seeking a Spring 2026 public policy fellow. The desired candidate is a current or recent graduate student who wants hands-on experience in applying their health policy and health systems knowledge and research skills to federal advocacy. The public policy fellow will work alongside the Director of Advocacy to advance the mission and objectives of AcademyHealth through advocacy, public policy, education, and policy communication. Learn more and apply here by October 22.
Previous Editions
This is the latest in a series of Situation Report updates from AcademyHealth. You can find prior issues here.
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