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Jeremy Faust, MD

@jeremyfaust.bsky.social

15K followers 270 following 600 posts

ER doctor at Brigham and Women's in Boston, Harvard Medical School. Words in: NY Times, WaPo, Atlantic, Slate, CNN. I'm also "editor-in-chief" of MedPage Today and write "Inside Medicine" on Substack: https://insidemedicine.substack.com/subscribe

insidemedicine.substack.com

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Reposted by Jeremy Faust, MD

Chris Hendel @chrishendel.bsky.social · 9h

"In addition to rank-and-file scientists and staffers, institutional leaders were affected this time around, leaving it unclear just how the agency’s major centers and divisions might continue to function."

by @jeremyfaust.bsky.social
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...

BREAKING NEWS: CDC employees terminated in apparent Friday night massacre.

The Trump administration is using the shutdown to further weaken the our national public health infrastructure.

insidemedicine.substack.com

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 10h

*could have* allowed more.

Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 10h

My brain explodes a tiny bit when people invoke HIPAA in these situations. His doctor can reveal nothing or everything. It’s entirely up to the patient. So, Trump signed off on this and couldn’t allowed more. But to the point, this idea of an ECG being linked to age is, ¿cómo se dice? “stupid af.”

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

They did sneak that in

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

Typos aside, there is simply no such thing.

ECGs are not an indicator of age.

They literally do not contain that information, either directly or indirectly.

This is just made up gobbledygook.

So, my question is: why?

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...

BREAKING NEWS: CDC employees terminated in apparent Friday night massacre.

The Trump administration is using the shutdown to further weaken the our national public health infrastructure.

insidemedicine.substack.com

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

This is a developing story. We’ll keep updating as new documents and confirmations come in.

You can read what we know over at Inside Medicine.

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

Russel Vought—the same Project 2025 architect—once said he wanted federal workers to feel traumatized.

Tonight, it appears that mission is being accomplished.

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

Even if this list proves exaggerated (we'll find out soon), perception alone matters.

The fear, confusion, and paralysis inside the CDC tonight are real—and, for some, like Russel Vought, exactly the point.

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

Here’s a list circulating inside the agency—unconfirmed but shared by multiple sources—showing the offices believed to be hit hardest. 👇 (NOT CONFIRMED)...

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

CDC insiders say between 1,100 and 1,300 employees are being cut. Even government filings cite 1,100–1,200.

Entire programs may disappear.

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

Friday morning, Russel Vought declared:
“The RIFs have begun.”

And by evening, the rumors were everywhere.

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

Federal workers have already filed legal motions to block the terminations. Two versions of those filings are circulating.

This follows warnings, including from former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry, who described a “hostile takeover.”

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

The usual justification—that cuts were a “course correction”—wasn’t even attempted this time.

“This is clearly a political move to pressure Democrats,” one current CDC official told Inside Medicine. “Many who were RIF’d were working on emergencies.”

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

CDC leaders asked staff to report if they’d received RIF notices—plus details like years of service and whether they’d been reinstated before.

Why?

Because these decisions weren’t made inside the agency. They came from political operatives outside CDC, apparently.

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

The cuts didn’t spare senior leadership.

Offices lost their leaders—
“Whole NCIRD Office of the Director RIF’d,” one former CDC official told me. “Acting Director and Deputy of NCIRD definitely RIF’d.”

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

Ironically, some CDC staff furloughed for the shutdown were called back just to carry out the firings. According to one legal expert, that could make the RIFs (Reductions in Force) illegal on procedural grounds.

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

This is the first visual confirmation of a new round of HHS terminations—promised earlier today by Russel Vought, Trump’s former OMB director—who warned a shutdown would be used as cover to dismantle the CDC.

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

The Trump administration is using the federal government shutdown as an excuse to terminate CDC employees. Inside Medicine obtained an internal email sent to leadership staff in the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD).

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Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 11h

We have breaking news in Inside Medicine.

We had heard rumors of RIFs to CDC.

But this is the first visual confirmation that it has occurred tonight, and at high levels in the agency.

Here is what we know...and then some well-sourced rumors (but rumors, nonetheless, not confirmed) 🧵...

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Reposted by Jeremy Faust, MD

Maryn McKenna @marynmck.bsky.social · 12h

More on the CDC tonight: @jeremyfaust.bsky.social , who is impeccably sourced there (physician, Harvard faculty) has details on the divisions hit by the apparently illegal RIFS. insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...