Trump pauses updates from CDC, FDA & more. Here’s where Illinoisans can find health info
As President Trump has ordered federal health agencies to pause some external communications through Saturday, Feb. 1, residents still have access to some information about respiratory virus transmission as the illnesses spread at a moderate level in Illinois.
The pause order was delivered Jan. 21, CNN reported, and will affect services such as some regular scientific reports, health advisories and website updates from federal health agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Some federal public health website updates are still happening, and CNN reported the Trump administration’s order came with “with little guidance as to what exactly it covered.” The order does require approval from the White House prior to agencies disseminating external communications, Time magazine reports.
As of Jan. 24, the CDC’s H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation webpage was last updated Jan. 17, and reported the multi-state outbreak has led to 67 confirmed total human cases in the U.S. and one death. The disease has affected poultry flocks across the nation, and a New York farm will euthanize more than 100,000 ducks due to a bird flu outbreak at the facility, USA Today reported Wednesday.
The Illinois Department of Public Health has an online seasonal respiratory illness dashboard with information about COVID, flu and RSV, and it was last updated with data from Jan. 12 to Jan. 18 as of Jan. 28.
“IDPH will continue to work with its state and local partners to protect Illinoisans from H5N1 Bird Flu and other infectious diseases. We are gathering data and monitoring conditions among dairy workers as well as cattle and birds in terms of H5N1 and communicating with the public about what the data is telling us. This remains true for other data gathering within the state for flu, COVID-19, RSV and other reportable diseases,” IDPH spokesperson Mike Claffey wrote in a Jan. 27 email to the News-Democrat.
The St. Clair County Health Department submits “reportable data” to the IDPH, spokesperson Brenda Fedak wrote in a Friday email to the BND, and will continue to report until instructed otherwise. Illinois law requires mandated reporters to report suspected or confirmed cases of certain infectious diseases electronically to IDPH, Fedak said in a later email, including influenza A, smallpox and more.
Illinois is at a moderate level for respiratory virus activity, according to the most recent update from the CDC Friday. The federal map reports state-level data on the transmission of COVID, flu and RSV, although another highly contagious virus is also spreading throughout the state.
Norovirus, a highly contagious stomach bug, is contributing to the “quademic” of viruses in Illinois this year. Some of its most common symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain.
This respiratory season led to the deaths of six Illinois children by mid-January, and this year’s peak respiratory virus season may last longer than usual.
Public health officials often recommend hand washing, avoiding others when you are sick and cleaning contaminated surfaces to mitigate a variety of viruses.
Where can you find public health information in Illinois?
Here’s a list of online resources from the CDC, Illinois Department of Public Health and St. Clair County Health Department on respiratory viruses and more. Communication from some of these may still be affected by Trump’s pause.
Illinois residents can schedule appointments for COVID vaccines and flu vaccines at CVS or Walgreens.
This story may be updated.
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This story was originally published January 25, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
