Researchers scramble as federal health data sources removed

Researchers are in what one described as “a mad scramble” to sort out what public data the Trump administration has deleted from government websites and electronic publications (Source: “Trump administration’s data deletions set off ‘a mad scramble,’ researcher says,” Associated Press, Feb. 3).
 
Late last week, federal agencies took down scores of government webpages as staffers hurried to comply with President Donald Trump’s order rolling back protections for transgender people, which required the removal of “gender ideology” language from websites, contracts and emails.
 
Some of the sites were back online Monday, but data analysts say it’s not clear exactly what was removed or changed.
 
While the administration’s stated goal was to delete gender and transgender terminology, some researchers worry that other politically charged topics — such as climate change or vaccines — might be removed or altered.
 
An expert panel affiliated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demanded a meeting on the deletions.
 
The committee, chartered by Congress to advise the CDC director, asked the agency’s acting director, Susan Monarez, for an explanation about why it had cut off access to datasets “that allow people across the country to understand the health of their communities.”