Multiple health agency websites on HIV, contraception taken down to comply with executive orders
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(WASHINGTON) — Government agency webpages about HIV, LGBTQ+ people and multiple other public health topics were down as of Friday evening due to President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at gender ideology and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Some of the terms being flagged for removal include pregnant people, chestfeeding, diversity, DEI and references to vaccines, health and gender equity, according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity.
Entire databases have also been temporarily removed.
Researchers confirmed to ABC News they were scrambling to collect and archive as much data as possible from the sites before they were taken down.
Some pages might be returned to public view after the language is reviewed and removed, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC said, though it’s not clear which pages.
Removed pages included key CDC information on the rate of HIV diagnoses, breakdowns of infections by race and gender and the probability of HIV transmission by various forms of sex.
The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a national survey system that collects various habits on teenagers as well as their gender identity, is also down.
The CDC’s “HIV Risk Reduction Tool,” an interactive tool that allowed users to gauge the risk of certain sexual behaviors, has also been erased.
For now, the agency appears to have consolidated all of its information about the virus that causes AIDS into a single, simplified page titled, “About HIV.”
Another website, reproductiverights.gov, which provided resources on reproductive care and abortion access, was also removed. The Food and Drug Administration’s webpage titled “Minority Health and Health Equity” was also down.
Asked Friday afternoon in the Oval Office if government websites would be shut down to be scrubbed, the president said it wouldn’t be a “bad idea.”
“I don’t know — it doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me,” Trump said.
“DEI … would have ruined our country, and now it’s dead. I think DEI is dead. So, if they want to scrub the website, that’s OK with me. But I can’t tell you,” Trump continued. Trump’s executive order on DEI called for an “end” to any related policies within the federal government.
The other executive order, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” directed the federal government to recognize only two sexes: male and female.
A memo sent to HHS officials on Wednesday directed subagencies such as the CDC to remove “all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology” by 5 p.m. on Friday.
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump is nominating a critic of COVID-19 lockdown policies to serve as the head of the National Institutes of Health.
In a statement, Trump said he has picked Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to serve as NIH director to work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — whom Trump named as his pick for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — to direct the nation’s medical research.
“Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest Health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease,” Trump said in the statement. “Together, they will work hard to Make America Healthy Again!
Bhattacharya is a professor of health policy at Stanford University who gained notoriety for openly opposing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
In addition to a medical degree, he has a doctorate in economics.
Trump also nominated Jim O’Neil to serve as the deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to “oversee all operations and improve Management, Transparency, and Accountability,” according to a statement.
(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed the first case of severe bird flu in the United States.
The federal health agency said Wednesday that the patient has been hospitalized in Louisiana. No identifying details about the patient were made available.
Genomic data showed the Louisiana patient was infected with a version of the virus recently found to be spreading in wild birds and poultry in the U.S., as well as found in some human cases in Canada and Washington state, according to the CDC.
This is different than the version of the virus found to be spreading in dairy cows and some poultry populations in the U.S.
The Louisiana patient was exposed to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks, although an investigation into the source of the illness is ongoing, the CDC said. This is the first case of human bird flu in the U.S. linked to exposure to backyard flock.
Almost all confirmed cases have had direct contact with infected cattle or infected livestock. Prior to the case confirmed in the Louisiana patient, cases had been mild and patients had all recovered after receiving antiviral medication, according to the CDC and state health officials. One previous case in Missouri was hospitalized, but health officials pointed to other health conditions aside from bird flu infection involved in the patient’s admission to the hospital.
Signs and symptoms of infection in humans often include sore throat, cough, fever, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle or body aches, fatigue and shortness of breath, the CDC says. Less common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and seizures.
Infections can range from no symptoms or mild illness, such as flu-like symptoms, to more severe illness, such as pneumonia that could require hospitalizations, the CDC says.
“The best way to prevent bird flu is to avoid exposure whenever possible. Infected birds shed avian influenza A viruses in their saliva, mucous and feces,” the CDC wrote Wednesday in a press release. “Other infected animals may shed avian influenza A viruses in respiratory secretions and other bodily fluids (e.g., in unpasteurized cow milk or ‘raw milk’).”
The CDC said no person-to-person transmission has been detected and the risk to the general public is low. However, those who work with birds, poultry or cows — or have recreational exposure to them — are at higher risk and should take precautions recommended by the health agency.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a new federal order last week that raw milk samples nationwide will be collected and shared with the department in order to test for bird flu.
The decision came after the bird flu virus was found in samples of raw milk from a California farm, which issued a recall of all of its raw milk products earlier this week. The farm was also placed under quarantine by state health officials.
ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Authorities are looking into online accounts believed to be those of Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate charged with murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street, that have posted about health struggles and possible medical successes.
Mangione appeared to operate a Reddit profile where he detailed health issues including back pain, brain fog and sciatica. The account made several posts on a subreddit dedicated to spondylolisthesis — a condition where a vertebra slips out of alignment. Mangione also might have planned to read or already read multiple books on back pain based on a Goodreads account associated with him.
Law enforcement sources have told ABC News that the Reddit profile — which has since been taken down — is being reviewed for additional details about the extent of the injuries mentioned. A Reddit spokesperson told ABC News regarding the page that their policy is to suspend accounts that may potentially be related to suspects in high-profile criminal investigations.
Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4. Written on the shell casings were the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” according to police sources. Mangione was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday after nearly one week on the run. He allegedly had a spiral notebook detailing plans about how to eventually kill the CEO, according to law enforcement officials.
Mangione is being held without bail in Pennsylvania, where he faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun. Defense attorney Thomas Dickey told reporters on Tuesday that Mangione will plead not guilty to the Pennsylvania charges. He said he anticipates that Mangione will also plead not guilty to the second-degree murder charge in New York.
The posts and reading lists paint a picture of someone seeking answers, sharing how spinal fusion surgery brought the author relief after years of discomfort.
“Chronic pain can be incredibly debilitating. It can affect every aspect of your life,” Dr. Joseph Shrand, chief medical officer of Riverside Community Care in Massachusetts and a Harvard Medical School faculty member, told ABC News.
While the Reddit posts suggest a spinal surgery was a significant moment in his life, the author of the posts said the procedure left him pain-free, and he frequently encouraged others to undertake similar procedures.
In an August 2023 post, the user remarked how his spinal injury was once “completely devastating” and worried he was “destined to chronic pain and a desk job for the rest of my life” before considering surgery.
Chronic pain, defined as pain lasting three months or more, affects about 50 million U.S. adults, according to the National Institutes of Health. Of these, 17 million Americans experience “high impact” chronic pain, which is so debilitating that it disrupts daily activities like work, self-care and relationships, the NIH says.
Women, older adults, and those living in poverty or rural areas tend to report the highest rates of persistent pain. So do people who are divorced or separated, identify as bisexual, or say they are generally in poor health, according to the NIH.
Studies suggest that chronic pain can put people at a higher risk of mental health struggles, as well as create a financial burden.
Research shows that between 35% to 45% of those with chronic pain experience depression, while anxiety disorders are similarly common. Pain may interfere with sleep, increase stress, and create cycles of declining mental and physical health.
“Chronic pain puts you at a disadvantage mentally because you may think other people see you as broken,” Shrand said. “There will be times where you may feel in such physical pain that it becomes emotional pain, too.”
Some studies suggest a biological link between chronic pain and mental health disorders. For example, depression can heighten pain sensitivity, reinforcing the connection between the two, according to a study in the journal Neural Plasticity.
Chronic pain affects every facet of life. It can limit employment opportunities, disrupt social connections and lead to cognitive challenges, including “brain fog.”
“People have difficulty getting out of bed in the morning because their backs hurt, which means that they’re potentially at risk of coming into work late, which then puts them at risk for the cascade effects of all those things that can happen because they are now perceived as a person who isn’t doing their job right,” Shrand said.
Chronic pain can lead to a substantial financial burden, as well. According to one Journal of Pain study, individuals with severe pain spend more than $4,000 more annually on health care versus those without pain.
Managing chronic pain requires a combination of medical, psychological and lifestyle interventions, but insurance often prioritizes medications and procedures with inconsistent results.
For instance, lumbar fusion surgeries — such as the one purportedly described by Mangione — are commonly performed but often fail to provide lasting relief, according to various studies.
When Mangione was arrested on Monday, he had “written admissions about the crime” with him, according to the New York arrest warrant.
Mangione had several handwritten pages on him that expressed a “disdain for corporate America” and indicated “he’s frustrated with the health care system in the United States,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Tuesday.
The words on the bullets echo the title of the 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.” Police are aware of the similarity, and are investigating whether one possible motive is anger at the insurance industry, sources said.
While the Reddit posts suggest a spinal surgery was a significant moment in his life, the author of the posts said the procedure left him pain-free, and he frequently encouraged others to undertake similar procedures.
One of Mangione’s apparent posts on the r/Spondylolisthesis subreddit in February 2024 referred to having had a surgery for the condition six months prior. The author said that “[w]within 7 days of the fusion I was on zero pain meds.”
Many widely used approaches, such as opioids or steroid injections, provide only temporary solutions to chronic pain. Meanwhile, treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy, yoga and acceptance therapy show promise but remain difficult to access due to cost and insurance coverage gaps.
However, many chronic pain patients face a maze of treatments that don’t fully address their needs or the root causes of their pain.
Shrand said the best approach often requires a combination of solutions.
“You can’t just attack the physical. You’ve got to address the biological, mental and social aspects of life,” he said. “You can manage this pain — it’s part of your body, and we can find a way to take care of you.”
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Aaron Katersky, Kerem Inal, Chris Looft and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.