The extensive layoffs of federal health workers began on Tuesday and will greatly curtail the scope and influence of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the world’s premier public health agency. The reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services shrinks the C.D.C. by 2,400 employees, or roughly 18% of its workforce, and strips away some of its core functions. Some Democrats in Congress described the reorganization as flatly illegal. The agency will be narrower in focus, trained on domestic disease outbreaks, and communications will be centralized at H.H.S. in Washington. Critics predicted the move will prevent scientists from speaking frankly about public health. The C.D.C.’s center on H.I.V. and sexually transmitted diseases was among the hardest hit, losing about 27% of its staff. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health was all but dissolved. The Trump administration had been weighing moving the H.I.V. prevention division to a different agency within H.H.S. but on Tuesday, teams leading H.I.V. surveillance and research were laid off. The move may lead to a rise in H.I.V. infections among Americans.
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