DOGE Attack on NIOSH Weakens Workers’ Bird Flu Protections

NIOSH respiratory protection experts have developed the recommendations for the proper respirators and other protective equipment for bird flu. The recent cuts at NIOSH are part of the larger assault on the nation’s health agencies, and have a direct impact on the bird flu response and how well workers are protected.

NIOSH investigators have been part of the CDC field investigations of bird flu outbreaks. All the NIOSH epidemiologists, industrial hygienists, engineers, occupational physicians and scientists have been terminated. Other HHS experts at FDA and the CDC working on the response to bird flu have also been terminated, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff investigating the contamination of milk, meat and pet food with H5N1. There is no one left at NIOSH (or elsewhere in the government) to do this work.