• Posted February 3, 2025

Key CDC Health Websites Vanish Following Trump Orders

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken down multiple health-related websites and datasets, including those on HIV, LGBTQ health and more, following executive orders from the Trump administration.

The orders require federal agencies to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and to recognize only two biological sexes: male and female.

A Jan. 29 memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management directed agencies to remove “all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology" by Jan. 31, CNN reported.

As of Friday, several CDC resources were removed, including:

• The HIV index page, testing information, national surveillance reports and datasets.

• Websites focused on the health of LGBTQ youth, including pages on their risk of suicide, those focused on creating safe schools for them and a page focused on health disparities among them.

• The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which tracks U.S. high school students' health behaviors.

• A food safety page called Safer Food Choices for Pregnant People.

• AtlasPlus, a tool for analyzing CDC data on HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis.

• The Social Vulnerability Index, which helps researchers and public policy leaders identify communities that are vulnerable to the effects of disasters and public health emergencies.

A senior health official told CNN that the CDC staff was warned that failing to comply with the orders could have consequences.

“In the process, large swaths of data and science will be unavailable for an undetermined period,” the senior health official said. “Regardless of your comfort with the idea of trans people, you should be terrified that the government is purging truth and science to fit an ideology, because what’s next?”

Public health experts say the removal of these resources could have serious consequences for healthcare providers.

“The removal of HIV- and LGBTQ-related resources from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies is deeply concerning and creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks,” Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Iinfectious Diseases Society of America, and Dr. Colleen Kelley, chair of the HIV Medicine Association, said in a statement.

While some public health organizations and activists have called for the immediate restoration of these resources, others are archiving CDC data altogether.

The Association of Health Care Journalists also sent a formal letter to Acting HHS Secretary Dr. Dorothy Fink and Acting CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, requesting that the sites be restored.

The missing data, they wrote, is “crucial” for informing the public about issues such as “smoking, vaping, drinking, eating, exercise, and sexual behavior,” the association’s leaders wrote in the letter obtained by CNN.

More information

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management's memorandum has more about the executive order.

SOURCES: CNN, media report, Jan. 31, 2025; Joint statement, HIV Medicine Association and Infectious Diseases Society of America, Jan. 31, 2025