WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed federal health agencies to pause all external communications, such as health advisories, weekly scientific reports, updates to websites and social media posts, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing a dozen current and former officials and sources.
The instructions were delivered on Tuesday to staff at agencies inside the Department of Health and Human Services, including officials at the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health, the newspaper reported. The agencies had no immediate comment.
Trump took office on Monday.
The Washington Post said that it was not clear from the guidance given by the new administration whether the directive would affect more urgent communications, such as foodborne disease outbreaks, drug approvals and new bird flu cases.
Stefanie Spear, a Department of Health deputy chief of staff, instructed agency staff on Tuesday morning to pause external communications, the newspaper reported.
Some officials cited by the newspaper were quoted as saying that the move is aimed at helping newly installed Trump health officials understand the vast flow of information coming out of health agencies.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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