Health & MedicineHow U.S. public health cuts could raise risks of infectious diseasesPublic health experts warn that the deep funding cuts and layoffs make us more vulnerable Employees of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services line up to enter the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building in Washington on April 2 as the Trump administration's plans to cut 10,000 jobs from the departments roster were kicking in. Many of those cuts could hamper the ability to fight infectious diseases.Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesBy Tina Hesman Saey8 seconds agoAt 6 a.m. on March 25, Philip Huang, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services department, got a devastating email. Millions of dollars in federal grants that the health agency had were suddenly gone.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had just rescinded about $12 billion from thousands of state and local health agencies, including Huangs.Some of that money was part of a COVID-19 recovery program that health departments were using to beef up testing for many diseases, including bird flu and measles as well as COVID-19. In Dallas, it was going toward a public health lab to expand such testing. Also on the chopping block: a grant that paid for staff providing childhood vaccines, including the measles vaccine, Huang said March 28 in a news briefing to discuss ongoing Trump administration cuts to public health.Sign up for our newsletterWe summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.