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WSJ What’s News

Inside the Biggest U.S. Public Health Shakeup in Modern History

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

News, Daily News

44K Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2025

⏱️ 14 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

At home and abroad, America’s approach to public health is changing rapidly. Tens of thousands of federal health workers are poised to lose their jobs and foreign aid cuts are interrupting programs touching everything from malaria prevention to the treatment of HIV. But along with cuts, new programs and priorities are rising up in their place. Journal health business editor Jonathan Rockoff and senior writer Betsy McKay look at what’s changing and how this will affect lives around the world. Luke Vargas hosts.  Further Reading:  Health Department Begins Sweeping Job Cuts RFK Jr. Plans 10,000 Job Cuts in Major Restructuring of Health Department Trump Administration Weighing Major Cuts to Funding for Domestic HIV Prevention Johns Hopkins Slashes More Than 2,000 Jobs Due to USAID Cuts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Kate's just off to work after sleeping in the best bed in the business.

0:04.0

And my word, doesn't she look ready for anything?

0:07.0

Something about her smile is just brighter.

0:10.0

Her eyes seem glintier, and she just feels so much more...

0:15.0

Kate-ier?

0:16.0

Of course it's no surprise really, because last night she slept at Premier Inn,

0:20.0

and she got up to

0:21.5

15% off with business booker get better sleep for your money premier in rest easy t's and see is apply

0:29.7

hey what's news listeners it's sunday april 27th i'm'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal, and this

0:38.6

is What's News Sunday, the show where we tackle the big questions about the biggest stories

0:43.6

in the news by reaching out to our colleagues across the newsroom to help explain what's happening

0:48.2

in our world. And this week, at home and abroad, America's approach to public health is changing rapidly.

0:55.9

Tens of thousands of federal health workers are poised to lose their jobs.

1:00.4

State health departments are seeing billions in funding from Washington being zeroed out.

1:05.6

And foreign aid cuts are interrupting programs for malaria prevention and treatment of HIV.

1:12.3

But along with cuts,

1:18.0

new programs and new priorities are rising up in their place. So what's in store as the U.S.

1:22.8

embarks on its biggest public health shakeup in modern history? Let's dive in. Well, we can't list all of the changes that are being made to the U.S. public health system, but let me run through a few of them very quickly.

1:34.9

The Department of Health and Human Services is shedding around 20,000 employees within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

1:42.3

Entire departments are being eliminated,

1:44.3

including for HIV prevention, violence prevention, and injury prevention. Also gone at the CDC

1:50.2

is a team that maintained a database of injuries and violent deaths, which was widely relied upon

...

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