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3w ago

Trump Administration Disbands CDC Infection Control Advisory Committee

The abrupt termination of HICPAC halts updates to critical healthcare infection control guidelines, raising concerns about stagnant standards and reduced transparency.

People protesting personnel cuts at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) hold signs outside the organization's main headquarters on March 12, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Overview

  • The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), responsible for national infection control guidelines, was terminated effective March 31, 2025, under a federal workforce reduction order.
  • Committee members were notified of the decision weeks later during a virtual meeting, with relevant CDC web pages now archived and no longer updated.
  • HICPAC was finalizing updated airborne pathogen guidelines, incorporating lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was disbanded.
  • Since its inception in 1991, HICPAC issued 540 recommendations, 90% of which were implemented by the CDC, shaping infection control practices nationwide.
  • Health experts and professional societies have expressed concerns that the loss of HICPAC will freeze infection control standards, undermining adaptability to evolving public health threats like drug-resistant pathogens.