Inside CDC: Lead Poisoning in Milwaukee? CDC Not Responding. And What’s Up With AHA?

Inside CDC: Public Health on the Brink—What the Cuts Really Mean for You

In this urgent episode of Thermometer, Dr. Jay Varma is joined by Dr. Tom Farley, former NYC and Philadelphia Health Commissioner, to unpack a chilling reality: America’s public health infrastructure is being quietly dismantled. From lead poisoning in Milwaukee to smoking prevention, worker safety, and pandemic preparedness—key CDC programs are vanishing.

These aren’t just bureaucratic changes—they’re threats to your health, your family, and your community.

📌 What’s Covered in This Episode:

🚨 CDC’s “April Fool’s Day Massacre”

• Over 2,400 staff and entire units at the CDC were cut in early April 2025.
• Cuts weren’t about saving money—they were about ideology, politics, and donor payback.
• Led by efforts outlined in Project 2025 and America Healthy Again (AHA).

❌ Programs That No Longer Exist:

1. Office on Smoking and Health
   • Ran the “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign
   • Tracked smoking, vaping, and nicotine use trends
   • Provided state/local grants for anti-smoking education
2. Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
   • Couldn’t respond to a lead poisoning crisis in Milwaukee schools
   • Lead is a known neurotoxin, permanently harming kids’ brain development
3. NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
   • Protected workers from black lung, toxic chemicals, and unsafe warehouse jobs
   • Developed N95 standards used worldwide
   • Now, nearly gone
4. Division of Reproductive Health
   • Shut down despite rising maternal mortality and pregnancy complications
   • Ended PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System) surveys

🧠 “CDC is not a healthcare agency—it’s a prevention agency. And without prevention, we will always be playing catch-up.” – Dr. Tom Farley

🧬 What’s Really at Stake:

• No national measles response despite a growing outbreak (500+ cases, 2 child deaths)
• No CDC press briefings, no response teams, no national messaging
• HIV, STDs, birth defects, and chronic diseases are being pushed out of CDC entirely
• Programs are being split up and dumped into service-focused agencies like HRSA and SAMHSA, where prevention will die quietly

⚠️ “This isn’t cost-cutting. It’s sabotage.” – Dr. Jay Varma

🤯 What’s Behind This?

• Project 2025 is a policy blueprint supported by ideologues looking to dismantle federal institutions.
• The proposed plan: destroy CDC by cleaving it in half, moving “non-infectious” units to a new agency called AHA (America Healthy Again).
• AHA would lack CDC’s scientists, epidemiologists, and data infrastructure—crippling disease prevention in America.

📢 What You Can Do:

• Call your Senators and Representatives—tell them not to break up the CDC
• Demand restoration of essential programs: lead prevention, smoking cessation, worker safety, maternal health
• Vote for leaders who believe in evidence-based public health
• Share videos like this to educate your community
• Subscribe to Dr. Farley’s newsletter: healthscaping.substack.com

💬 “They’re not just coming for our public health programs. They’re coming for the very idea that government should keep us safe.” – Dr. Jay Varma

🌐 More from the Experts:

• Dr. Tom Farley’s Newsletter

📺 Watch Now:

Inside CDC: Lead Poisoning, Measles & the Cuts You Didn’t Hear About