CDC Infection Control Committee Axed Amid Federal Cuts

The Trump administration has eliminated a critical federal advisory panel responsible for crafting national healthcare infection prevention standards, raising concerns among medical professionals about future guidance on emerging pathogens. The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), which developed guidelines followed by most U.S. hospitals, was terminated effective March 31, though committee members weren’t informed until early May.

According to a CDC letter delivered to members following a virtual meeting last week, the termination aligns with President Trump’s executive order aimed at reducing the federal workforce, as reported by NBC News.

Decades of Infection Prevention Expertise Lost

HICPAC has been the cornerstone of U.S. healthcare infection prevention efforts for over three decades, developing standardized practices for everything from hand hygiene and isolation precautions to preventing surgical site infections and managing outbreaks of drug-resistant organisms. The committee’s guidelines, while not legally binding, have been widely adopted by healthcare facilities nationwide.

During its 30-plus years of operation, the committee issued 540 recommendations to the CDC, with approximately 90% being fully implemented, according to the agency’s letter to committee members. These guidelines have fundamentally shaped how hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and other healthcare settings prevent infections among patients and staff.

“At some point, when things need to change, the guidelines likely won’t change, and then people will be sort of flying by the seat of their pants,” said Connie Steed, a HICPAC member since 2023, as quoted by CIDRAP.

Medical Societies Alarmed by Sudden Termination

Four major professional organizations had anticipated potential cuts to the committee and preemptively wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in March, urging preservation of HICPAC amid widespread federal health agency reductions. These groups included the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

In a joint statement released following news of the termination, these organizations expressed significant concerns about the decision’s impact on national health security. They warned that disbanding HICPAC “creates a preventable gap in national preparedness and response capacity” at a time when threats from emerging pathogens and antimicrobial resistance are increasing.

“The absence of this committee’s guidance creates a significant void in the field, fosters uncertainty among healthcare facilities, and puts patients at risk,” the groups cautioned in their statement.

Guidelines Frozen Without Update Mechanism

Several of HICPAC’s web pages have already been archived, meaning they remain accessible online but will no longer be updated. This static preservation of guidelines has sparked concerns among infectious disease experts that infection control practices won’t evolve with changing science and emerging threats.

Dr. Preeti Malani, a former HICPAC member and infectious disease physician at the University of Michigan, emphasized the importance of continued national coordination. “You’d want to avoid seeing state and local health departments try to figure this out on their own,” he noted in comments to U.S. News & World Report.

Without HICPAC’s regular review and updates, hospitals and healthcare systems may develop inconsistent approaches to infection control, potentially compromising patient safety and creating confusion for healthcare workers who move between facilities.

Committee Had Faced Recent Criticism

While broadly respected across the healthcare system, HICPAC had faced some criticism in recent years. In 2023, its draft proposal to update the CDC’s 2007 isolation precaution guidelines drew significant backlash for suggesting that surgical masks provide equivalent protection as respirators against airborne pathogens like SARS-CoV-2.

National Nurses United, which had been critical of some HICPAC recommendations, nevertheless opposed the committee’s termination. “While we had significant concerns regarding HICPAC’s makeup and proposed guidance, the termination of the committee removes important public transparency,” said Bonnie Castillo, the organization’s executive director.

She added that without HICPAC’s public meetings, “there is no longer any public access to the process for drafting CDC guidance on infection control for healthcare settings,” further undermining safety for patients and healthcare workers alike.

Future of Infection Control Guidance Uncertain

The CDC and Department of Health and Human Services have not responded to requests for comment on how infection control guidelines will be developed and updated moving forward. This silence has left infectious disease experts speculating about potential alternatives, including whether guideline development might be moved internally within the CDC or outsourced to other entities.

Healthcare facilities are particularly concerned about guidance for emerging threats, as hospitals often rely on HICPAC’s rapid development of evidence-based protocols during public health emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, healthcare institutions turned to HICPAC-informed CDC guidelines to implement appropriate infection prevention measures.