The federal teams that count public health problems are disappearing — putting efforts to solve those problems in jeopardy.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s purge of tens of thousands of federal workers has halted efforts to collect data on everything from cancer rates in firefighters to mother-to-baby transmission of HIV and syphilis to outbreaks of drug-resistant gonorrhea to cases of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Teams manning government hotlines for reporting adverse events from foods, supplements and cosmetics, and call centers that provide other essential safety information were among the thousands of Health and Human Services Department employees laid off last week.

The big picture: Though the department is hurriedly calling some workers back, the episodes show how information blackouts are becoming a feature of the Trump administration's efforts to reorganize the health bureaucracy.

Dr. Peter Marks, the top vaccine official at the Food and Drug Administration, wrote in a letter on Friday that he was resigning from his position and criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has questioned the effectiveness of vaccines for years and promoted debunked claims that certain vaccines are linked to autism.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will lay off about 10,000 full-time employees. 

The move is projected to save taxpayers $1.8 billion annually.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will cut about 10,000 full-time jobs and close half of its regional offices, it said on Thursday, a major overhaul of the department under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to slash 10,000 full-time employees across different departments, as he works to reshape the nation’s federal health agencies, the department said Thursday.

The US Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday it is cutting 10,000 full-time employees across health agencies, the department told CNN.

This comes on top of 10,000 employees who’ve left voluntarily, shrinking the workforce from about 82,000 full-time employees to 62,000.

The cuts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr has announced he intends to slash the size of the department he leads by a huge fraction – around 10,000 jobs out of the 82,000 full time workforce.

Kennedy announced on Thursday that he also plans to close some regional offices.

The restructuring, along with previous voluntary departures, will result in a total downsizing to 62,000.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a major overhaul Thursday that will eliminate 10,000 full-time employees from his department.

Mr. Kennedy also said HHS will consolidate 28 divisions into 15, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, and it will cut the number of regional offices from 10 to five.

A large study into the potential connections between vaccines and autism is reportedly being planned by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to reports Friday.

It's not clear if Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is involved in the study or how the plans would be implemented.

The CDC and Kennedy's department have not commented about the reporting, released by Reuters, which quoted two sources said to be familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump, in his address to Congress Tuesday...