Photo credit: www.cbsnews.com
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has canceled an initiative aimed at providing assistance to Texas schools in managing measles outbreaks. This decision followed warnings given to some agency employees involved in the response to the ongoing and record-breaking instances of the virus, indicating that they might face layoffs. An employee from the CDC revealed this information.
Initially, CDC officials contemplated extending a service already available to Texas hospitals, which included on-site evaluations to identify how inadequacies in ventilation and air filtration systems could contribute to the spread of measles. This service was considered for other facilities, such as schools.
Dylan Neu, a biomedical engineer at the CDC’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), who conducted ventilation assessments in Texas, emphasized the importance of being physically present to accurately examine air filtration systems and HVAC configurations. “Being on the ground allows us to actually look at the filters that are in place, look at the HVAC systems, how they’re set up, how they’re being used, how they’re being monitored. And after seeing what we did, I’m glad we did,” Neu stated in an interview.
Neu, along with another expert from NIOSH, traveled to Texas on March 20, after the state made a formal request for assistance. During their inspections of hospitals treating measles patients, they identified various critical flaws. Neu noted that understanding the operation of HVAC systems over the phone is challenging, especially with individuals who may not be familiar with the technicalities.
In one instance, an isolation room designed to contain a measles patient was incorrectly pressurized, causing air to flow out instead of being contained. In another case, a hospital neglected to remove the plastic wrapping from a HEPA filter before activating it, thereby nullifying its intended purpose. “They might say in an interview, ‘Yeah, we purchased HEPA filters. They’ve been running in the waiting room.’ But if they’re not actually out of the plastic bag, they’re not doing what they think they’re doing,” Neu elaborated.
Although Neu remains employed for the time being, he received a notice on April 1 indicating a potential layoff due to restructuring within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “This action is necessary to align our workforce with the agency’s current and future needs and to ensure the efficient and effective operation of our programs,” the notice stated. Neu reported receiving this communication while in Texas, preparing to conclude his deployment. Many of his colleagues from NIOSH have either already been laid off or given reassignment options.
Neu shared that he expects to continue working until the end of the month, after which he will be on administrative leave for 60 days before officially separating from HHS. Subsequently, he mentioned that the CDC decided against conducting additional ventilation assessments in Texas specifically due to concerns regarding his possible layoff while on the field, thus limiting access to essential agency systems.
A CDC spokesperson was not immediately available for comments regarding this situation. Neu highlighted that while the NIOSH team typically engages in research, they have also frequently been called upon to respond to emergencies, especially those involving engineering and contamination concerns.
Reflecting on his experiences, Neu noted that his team has played crucial roles in various emergency responses, from assisting hospitals in formulating plans for Ebola during the Obama administration to aiding the establishment of isolation protocols at quarantine stations during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re involved in pretty much every response the CDC is involved in. Especially if there’s some sort of engineering or ventilation component, NIOSH gets called in as that scientific expertise,” he remarked.
These layoffs not only disrupt the CDC’s measles response but also hinder NIOSH’s ability to undertake health hazard evaluations for workplaces addressing health issues such as cancer clusters and fungal infections. Furthermore, CBS News has previously reported that additional CDC personnel assigned to support the measles initiative had also been let go.
An official from the CDC stated on Tuesday that the agency is now “scraping to find the resources and personnel needed to provide support” to Texas and other states grappling with outbreaks.
Source
www.cbsnews.com