Overview

• All full-time staff in the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program have been laid off, leaving only 12 U.S. Public Health Service officers to manage inspections and outbreak responses.
• The layoffs come during a record surge in norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships, with at least 12 outbreaks already reported this year, surpassing last year’s pace.
• Despite the program being funded by fees from cruise ship companies, not taxpayer dollars, it was included in HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sweeping cost-cutting measures.
• The program's remaining staff includes only one epidemiologist, who is still in training, raising concerns about the CDC's ability to manage ongoing and future outbreaks.
• Critics warn that the reduction in staff compromises public health safety, as the program previously conducted nearly 200 inspections annually and handled outbreak investigations.