Fired and then rehired: That's the story for many CDC employees.
The agency terminated some 1,300 workers Friday, but then rehired around 700 of them over the weekend, according to the union that represents federal workers.
Initial terminations included CDC employees working on the U.S. measles response and Ebola containment in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as staff at six global CDC offices, according to former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry.
"I was very thrown off when that was laid off because that allows CDC to really respond to emergencies around the world," Houry said.
Houry says that the instability at the CDC is hurting morale at the agency.
"Morale is at an all-time low and continuing to plummet," Houry said. "Just really seeing how the secretary continues to say things about the CDC that aren't true and aren't supportive of the staff, like 'don't trust the experts.' That does not help morale."
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The incident is the latest impacting an agency that's undergone sweeping changes this year. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has carried out major cuts across the CDC.
"What I'm trying to do with the agency is return it to gold standard science, make sure that anything that we tell the public, we tell the public what we know and what we don't know," Kennedy said.
But opponents of Kennedy's leadership say shrinking the agency leaves the U.S. less prepared to handle future health crises.
"I am concerned about not just the future of CDC, but public health in the United States and the health of Americans if the CDC is not functional," Houry said.
