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Blue States Sued and Kept Most CDC Grants. Red States Feel Brunt of Trump Clawbacks.
Grant cancellations were initially even between blue and red states
www.medpagetoday.com
Initially, grant cancellations hit blue and red states roughly evenly. Four of the five jurisdictions with the largest number of terminated grants were led by Democrats: California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
But after attorneys general and governors from about two dozen blue states sued in federal court and won an injunction, the balance flipped. Of the five states with the most canceled grants, four are led by Republicans: Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ohio.
In blue states, nearly 80% of the CDC grant cuts have been restored, compared with fewer than 5% in red states, according to the KFF Health News analysis. Grant amounts reported in an HHS database known as the Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System, or TAGGS, often don't match what states confirmed. Instead, this analysis focused on the number of grants.
The divide is an example of the polarization that permeates healthcare issues, in which access to safety-net health programs, abortion rights, and the ability of public health officials to respond to disease threats diverge significantly depending on the political party in power.
...The Trump cutbacks came as the U.S. recorded its largest measles outbreakopens in a new tab or window in over three decades and 266 pediatric deaths during the most recent flu season -- the highest reportedopens in a new tab or window outside of a pandemic since 2004. Public health departments canceled vaccine clinics, laid off staff, and put contracts on hold, health officials said in interviews.
After its funding cuts were blocked in court, California retained every grant the Trump administration attempted to claw back, while Texas remains the state with the most grants terminated, with at least 30. As the CDC slashed grants in Texas, its measles outbreak spread across the U.S. and Mexico, sickening at least 4,500 people and killing at least 16.
Colorado, which joined the lawsuit, had 11 grant terminations at first, but then 10 were retained. Meanwhile, its neighboring states that didn't sue -- Wyoming, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma -- collectively lost 55 grants, with none retained.
