On April 1, 2025, April Fool's Day, a chill with the smell of rust lingered in the morning fog of Washington. In front of the glass curtain wall of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), thousands of employees lined up in a long queue, each holding a cardboard box. The dismissal notice emails shone with a blinding light, slicing open the first wound in the global public health system like a sharp blade.

 

 

This was not an April Fool's joke but a carefully planned "systematic slaughter." 10,000 full-time employees were shown the door, and the elite teams of core institutions such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were severely cut in half. Another 10,000 employees are awaiting the fate of being laid off. It is estimated that the total number of full-time employees will be reduced from 82,000 to 62,000, with an overall layoff rate approaching one-fourth.

US Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., declared on social media that it was a "battle for efficiency." However, the sobs that echoed within the HHS building have long since exposed the hypocrisy of this political show. 3,500 new drug approval experts, 2,400 epidemic prevention and control backbones, and 1,200 cancer researchers, who were yesterday's "sweethearts of health protection," have now suddenly become the "redundant costs." Kennedy's "reorganization blueprint" has sharply reduced the number of departments from 28 to 15 and halved the number of regional offices from 10 to 5, saving $1.8 billion annually.

George Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health Association, severely criticized, "The government has swung a knife at the healthcare system. They have not only damaged the federal health system but also destroyed the local health system, causing a double blow." This move will exacerbate the deteriorating trend of the average life expectancy of Americans.

 

 

The large-scale layoffs in the FDA, CDC, and NIH may lead to an unprecedented crisis in the field of public health. As a globally authoritative institution for drug approval, the dismissal of 3,500 FDA employees is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the new drug approval process. New drugs that were supposed to bring hope to patients now face great difficulties in the approval process. Patients are watching helplessly as life-saving drugs are delayed, the treatment effect is greatly reduced, and their chances of survival are quietly slipping away.

The dismissal of 2,400 CDC employees has plunged disease prevention and control into a difficult situation. The capabilities of infectious disease monitoring, prevention, and control have been greatly reduced. When new infectious diseases break out, it may not be possible to detect and respond in a timely manner. The spread of diseases such as measles and avian influenza will lose effective control, and the risk of the epidemic spreading is increasing day by day.

The dismissal of 1,200 NIH employees, many of whom are elite scientists in vaccine research and development, is undoubtedly a severe blow to the US vaccine research and development cause. The research and development of vaccines for future pandemics will move slowly, and the US will be more vulnerable when facing new public health threats.

A hidden crisis is quietly spreading in the field of scientific research. A large number of scientific research projects have been forced to be interrupted or cancelled, including many studies on major diseases such as cancer and AIDS. These projects have come to an abrupt end due to various difficulties such as funding and personnel shortages. The huge amount of funds invested in the early stage and the hard work of countless researchers have instantly come to nothing, and the process of conquering these diseases has been ruthlessly delayed.

At the same time, the loss of scientific research talents has made the situation even worse. Top scientists and researchers are leaving one after another, either moving to other countries or finding new careers.

The large-scale layoffs in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have not only impacted the federal-level public health institutions but also directly affected the local health departments. The technical support and financial assistance originally provided by the federal government have been greatly reduced, and local health systems are struggling to cope with public health incidents without a solid backing.

Local health resources were already in short supply, and now the situation has become even more difficult. In the current situation where public health incidents occur frequently, local health systems have to take on more responsibilities. However, the limited resources are difficult to meet the needs of dealing with sudden public health incidents, and the public health defense line is facing unprecedented challenges.

In a short period of time, a large number of doctors, researchers, and public health experts have been suddenly pushed into the job market, which is bound to have a huge impact on the medical job market. The overall recruitment in the medical industry has slowed down, and the difficulty of re-employment has increased sharply. This difficult situation not only brings great economic pressure to individuals and families but also weakens the vitality of the entire industry.

A former CDC employee, Peter (pseudonym), revealed, "Previously, employees of the CDC or other departments often went to pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and other departments for job hunting after leaving. Now, in the current cold winter of the US medical industry, the opportunities are becoming fewer and fewer."

 

 

The large-scale layoffs in the US medical industry, like a sudden storm, have not only impacted its own system but also brought far-reaching effects on the global medical industry pattern. In this crisis, we can not only see the danger but also find great opportunities.

The wave of layoffs in the US medical industry has left a large number of high-end talents facing unemployment. We can take this opportunity to attract these professionals to return or join our medical industry through favorable treatment and a good research environment. These talents include new drug approval experts, epidemic prevention and control backbones, cancer researchers, etc. Their addition will bring new vitality and ideas to the innovative development of our medical industry.

Scientists such as Li Ge, the founder of WuXi AppTec, Wang Xiaodong, the founder of BeiGene, and Yu Dechao, the founder of 信达生物，all returned from the US in the early days and made important contributions to the development of innovative drugs. We can also cooperate with US medical institutions and universities to carry out talent cultivation projects, such as jointly training postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Through this way, we can learn the advanced education concepts and cultivation models of the US, improve our own medical education level, and at the same time provide opportunities for the unemployed talents in the US to continue their studies and development.

The layoffs in the US medical industry have led to the interruption or slow progress of research and development in some technical fields, which provides an opportunity for us to fill the technical gaps. We can cooperate with US scientific research institutions and enterprises to jointly carry out research in the fields of new drug research and development and medical device innovation. Both sides can share resources and technologies, accelerate the research and development process, and improve the research and development efficiency.

In addition, we should strengthen joint research and development cooperation with US medical enterprises and jointly carry out research on treatment plans for major diseases. We can integrate our respective superior resources, such as funds, technologies, and talents, to improve the success rate of research and development and market competitiveness, and at the same time provide opportunities for medical enterprises to enter the international market.

The US has advanced experience in medical service concepts and management models. We can draw on these experiences to upgrade and transform our medical institutions and improve the quality and efficiency of medical services. At the same time, through cooperation with US medical institutions to carry out telemedicine services, we can provide patients with more convenient and efficient medical services.

We can also cooperate with US medical quality certification institutions, introduce advanced quality management systems and standards, and conduct certification and evaluation of medical institutions to improve the overall quality level of the medical industry and enhance patients' trust in medical services.

When the cold wave of layoffs arrives, the rusty gears always make harsh and mournful noises in the dark. When the US devalues the "health guardians" as "redundant costs," on the other side of the ocean, the East is reconstructing the coordinate system of medical values. What we can see is not only the bloody twilight seeping from the cracks of the US system but also the eternal proposition in the evolution of civilization - how many mists does humanity have to pass through to safeguard health?

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