‘Going to get us all killed’: Trump senselessly demands all U.S. public health officials end WHO communications immediately

On his first day back in office, Donald Trump proclaimed that the U.S. would pull out of the World Health Organization, disturbing many. Health officials may have taken solace in the fact it would take at least a year to withdraw, but apparently, that’s not fast enough for Trump.

On Jan. 28, U.S. public health officials have been ordered to cease working with the WHO immediately. On Sunday, senior leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received a memo from senior official John Nkengasong telling them to immediately stop collaborating with the WHO and “await further guidance.” The Associated Press reviewed the memo, which said the stop work policy applied to “all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means — in person or virtual.” CDC staff are also banned from visiting any WHO office.

This comes after Trump issued an executive order on his first day to begin the process of withdrawing the United States from the WHO. However, this executive order cannot be immediately implemented. Not only does it require one year’s notice, but it also needs approval from Congress and for the U.S. to complete its financial obligation for the fiscal year. However, Trump doesn’t appear to care very much about this, having ordered the CDC and federal health agencies to stop communicating with the WHO as of right now. This comes after he told the healthcare agencies to stop communicating with the public.

Caught everyone with their pants down

“Stopping communications and meetings with WHO is a big problem,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a University of Southern California public health expert who collaborates with WHO on work against sexually transmitted infections. “People thought there would be a slow withdrawal. This has really caught everyone with their pants down,” said Klausner.

It isn’t as if the WHO only takes from the United States; it’s “a two-way street,” as Klausner puts it. The WHO helps all countries around the globe monitor, understand, and tackle global health problems. Through the WHO, American health agencies can learn about new tests, new treatments, and emerging outbreaks, which also benefit citizens of the United States. Those very same citizens are now worried.

Many remember how Trump’s health and environmental policies resulted in tragedy the first go around.

Of course, with social media sites like X becoming breeding grounds for extreme right-wing views, many are celebrating the exit of the States from the WHO.

A common reason that they support the decision is the well-trodden argument of “Big Pharma.” The flaw with this argument is, is that the WHO works in every country around the world (except Liechtenstein), countries that have free or significantly subsidized health care. You don’t hear the same complaints of “Big Pharma” from those countries because they are regulated in ways they are not in the United States. That isn’t the WHO’s fault, that’s down to the United States government.

While people celebrate Trump’s pulling out of the WHO, believing this will allow them medical autonomy and free them of “Big Pharma,” Trump is reversing the Biden administration’s efforts to lower the cost of medication. So no, Trump is not doing this to benefit the health of his nation. Leaving the WHO will weaken America’s ability to respond to global health threats. Dr. Tom Frieden, president and CEO of the nonprofit health organization Resolve to Save Lives and former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put it blunty, “The bottom line is that withdrawing from the WHO makes Americans and the world less safe.”