CBS News first reported on the mass layoffs Thursday, citing multiple anonymous officials. A skeleton crew of 12 U.S. Public Health Service officers will reportedly remain to respond to these outbreaks, but the epidemiologist in charge of leading the CDC’s response has been let go. There have already been a dozen outbreaks aboard cruises in U.S. waters—most involving norovirus—so far this year, well above the typical pace.
The VSP layoffs appear to be part of the Trump administration’s plan to drastically cut jobs across the agencies under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Following the advice of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), HHS chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last month that the HHS will fire 10,000 full-time employees, including 2,400 at the CDC.
The VSP is funded by fees paid by cruise ship companies, for instance, not taxpayers. And the department had been struggling with staffing shortages prior to the cuts, according to officials cited by CBS News. Despite these shortages, VSP staff inspected nearly 200 ships last fiscal year.
[G]iven the worsening vomit-soaked mess already unfolding on cruise ships this year, it’s hard to imagine how the situation will get any better with no full-time staff at the CDC to keep an eye on things.