The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is cutting state funding for childhood vaccination programs, according to an agency email obtained by KFF Health News.
The cut “is a major change to your budget,” said the email to immunization managers, dated June 27 and signed by two CDC officials.
The immunization managers who received the notice are public health officials who lead state, territorial and local programs to promote vaccinations against a variety of infectious diseases, such as measles and chickenpox.
The reduction comes from a federal immunization grant — totaling about $680 million in the past year — that supports childhood immunization programs, according to the Association of Immunization Managers.
“There won’t be an easy fix for this,” the CDC email said. “We know this change will require some tough decisions.”
When asked about the change, CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund said Monday, “The budgetary impact is still being worked out.”
Agency officials linked the cut to the debt ceiling agreement recently struck by the Biden administration and Congress. The reduction could lead to less complete reporting on vaccinations, the CDC said.
The debt deal revoked about $27 billion in unspent federal money allocated to fight covid. It also led the CDC to remove $400 million in funding to states for workers fighting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, according to an email obtained by CQ Roll Call.
Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, said Wednesday that jurisdictions are reporting that the cut is 10% or more from last year’s grant.
The targeted cuts will affect programs that identify communities vulnerable to disease outbreaks, Hannan said. This information is used to prevent and control outbreaks, Hannan added.
States and territories, along with some cities, are expected to learn their federal funding amounts for childhood immunization this week, Hannan said.
A spokesman for the Georgia Department of Public Health, Nancy Nydam, acknowledged that a cut in children’s vaccinations was imminent, but said the agency had not received any additional details as of Monday afternoon.
The cut comes as the number of children being vaccinated during the covid pandemic has fallen. During the 2021-22 school year, approx Received 93% of preschoolers nationwide any of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis), polio, and varicella vaccines. That was down from 94% during the 2020-21 school year and 95% coverage in 2019-20.
Children who have not been vaccinated are more likely to contract diseases such as measles and whooping cough, the CDC reports on its website. Outbreaks of these diseases have occurred recently, especially in communities with low vaccination rates.
“Now is not the time to reduce federal support for routine childhood vaccine administration,” said Mark Del Monte, CEO of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We need to ensure that every child is fully up to date on their vaccinations as the back-to-school season approaches, and that requires continued investment in the vaccine delivery system.”
Transferring money from one area to another isn’t easy because of the rigidity in the CDC’s budget, said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.
Local public health agencies depend on federal funding to support their immunization programs, Benjamin said. He worries that low-income families are particularly vulnerable if local chapters face budget cuts.
“This is what happens when you don’t pay attention to public health,” Benjamin said.
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operational programmes KFF (Foundation Family Kaiser). KFF is an endowed non-profit organization that provides information on health issues to the nation.