Elfreth Joins 84 Democrats in Urging Trump Administration to Restore Public Health Communications and Act Swiftly to Address Worsening Bird Flu Outbreak
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (MD-03) joined 84 Democratic lawmakers in addressing a letter to the Trump Administration in response to the interagency gag order on external public health communications. The restriction of accurate and efficient communication within federal agencies such as the CDC and FDA has hindered the US response to HN51, or the bird flu.
“Your Administration must act quickly to address this crisis,” the lawmakers wrote. “Viruses will not wait for this Administration to lift its gag order or for agencies to restart their collaboration and information sharing before they spread or mutate. It is clear that these interfering short-sighted actions by your Administration will cause significant harm. This interference must end.”
Several agencies are responsible for mitigating the spread. The US Department of Agriculture handles cases in cattle and poultry, the Food and Drug Administration monitors milk, and the CDC addresses human virus cases. These agencies require proper communication and exchange of information and data to ensure that the virus does not continue to spread and ensure the treatment and evaluation of the infected. The bird flu has already affected nearly 1,000 dairy herds across 16 states, over 162 million poultry, and over 12,000 wild birds and infected 70 people, with one associated death. Farmworkers in close proximity to livestock and poultry are most at risk. The health and economic implications of this virus are severe, and will only worsen with the Administration’s continued restrictions.
“We know you would not like to see another deadly pandemic unfold under your watch,” the lawmakers continued. “[T]hus, we await your swift action to completely lift the pause on external communications by public health agencies, commit to cross-agency collaboration on H5N1, and work to get every necessary state enrolled in the National Milk Testing Strategy.”
You can read the full letter here.
###