President Donald Trump’s administration has dismantled a healthcare committee that helped prevent the spread of infections in medical facilities, NBC News reports.
For about 30 years, the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) helped to prevent the spread of infectious disease by producing guidelines for health care facilities on disinfection, hygiene, and other practices.
The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention wrote in a letter last week that of HICPAC’s 540 recommendations over the last three decades, about 90% have been implemented fully.
NBC notes that the decision to terminate the panel and its members was made at the end of March, but the members of the committee were not informed until last Friday.
Connie Steed, who served on the panel since 2023 and was formerly the president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, told NBC News that the decision means that hospitals and other healthcare providers will lack guidance for how to deal with drug-resistant germs in particular.
“At some point, when things need to change, the guidelines likely won’t change, and then people will be sort of flying by the seat of their pants,” Steed said.
Jane Thomason, the lead industrial hygienist at National Nurses United, a group that had criticized HICPAC’s recommendations in the past, told NBC that the group opposes the decision to shut down HICPAC despite their disagreements.
“While we had significant concerns regarding HICPAC’s make up and proposed guidance, the termination of the committee removes important public transparency,” Thomason said. “Without HICPAC’s public meetings, there is no longer any public access to the process for drafting CDC guidance on infection control for health care settings. This further undermines safety for patients, nurses, and other health care workers.”
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Comments