President Donald Trump is cutting billions of dollars in federal grants that state and local health departments have been using to track diseases, address health disparities, support vaccinations, offer mental health services, and deal with other health issues.
The notices to stop work on these grants were sent out late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, taking officials by surprise and forcing them to react quickly.
“The end of the pandemic provides cause to terminate COVID-related grants and cooperative agreements. These grants and cooperative agreements were issued for a limited purpose: to help reduce the effects of the pandemic. Now that the pandemic is over, these grants are no longer necessary,” one of the notices says.
The Trump administration says it plans to start recovering the money 30 days after sending the termination notices.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the grants, which totaled $11.4 billion, were mainly used for COVID-19 efforts like testing, vaccinations, and hiring community health workers. The grants also helped a program started in 2021 to address health disparities caused by COVID-19 in at-risk and underserved communities.
HHS did not explain how it planned to recover money already spent by state and local governments.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago. HHS is focusing on funding projects that will tackle our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again,” HHS said in a statement.
However, state and local health officials argue the funding has been used for important public health work beyond just COVID-19. For example, the money has helped manage a measles outbreak in Texas and update outdated software systems used by health departments.
“While these grants helped with COVID-19, they also help prevent other diseases. It has a ripple effect on public health,” said Adriane Casalotti, Chief of Government and Public Affairs at the National Association of County & City Health Officials.
