CDC division responsible for asthma control and lead poisoning prevention effectively eliminated

After Hurricane Ian, as Floridians returned home to sodden furniture and moldy piles of debris, many with asthma could feel their chests tightening. To figure out what was safe, some sent their concerns directly to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

But on Tuesday — days before floods ravaged Nashville, potentially prompting similar queries — the people who would normally answer such asthma questions stopped working. They were notified that their jobs have been cut as part of massive layoffs at federal health agencies. Also cut: the people helping to deal with an ongoing lead-exposure crisis in Milwaukee schools. So were the federal health officials who would respond in the case of a radiation emergency. 

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