By Kathleen E. Carey
kcarey [at] delcotimes.com
Delaware County Health Department officials said the department could lose significant funding if 50% is cut from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget as seen in the federal budget proposal for fiscal year 2026.
“If that budget passes, we will be in pretty big trouble,” Delaware County Board of Health Chair Rosemarie Halt said.
A budget deal was struck and signed by President Donald Trump, but the House and Senate are working on the appropriations portions of that 2026 budget, and individual amounts in many areas have not been set.
The CDC budget for fiscal year 2025 was about $9.6 billion. The proposal for 2026 is $4.24 billion.
Some of the money sent previously to the CDC would be routed elsewhere. George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health said $1 billion would be moved to other Health and Human Services operating and staff divisions.
Halt joined county Health Director Lora Werner at a League of Women Voters of Central Delaware County presentation on Friday called “Hot Topic: Public Health Programs & Policy in Challenging Times.”
The CDC last week stopped recommending a birth hepatitis B dose for infants, allowing the parents to wait until a child is 2 months old, then deciding.
That followed a change in recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and in light of Trump’s proposal to cut CDC funding.
Halt said that from 1994 through 2023, Vaccines for Children, a nationwide program that is the biggest part of the CDC budget, has prevented over 508 million illnesses and helped avoid over 1 million deaths.
“This program along with several other programs are in danger of being cut,” she said, noting vaccine skepticism in Delaware County.
And, in the county kindergarten, doses have dipped below 95% for the first time. That is the level Halt said is needed for herd immunity.
She said the health department is trying to do campaigns informing parents on the importance of the vaccines.
Changing views
Halt said 1 in 6 parents nationally are reporting delaying or skipping shots, compared to 1 in 10 parents in 2023.
Regarding the funding, she said if the federal funding isn’t available, it would fall to the states, but not many states are not prepared to handle that.
Halt said programs that could be threatened would include TB control, infectious disease, programs for gonorrhea and syphilis and sexually transmitted infections and vaccines.
She said all of this has impacts.
“It’s diminishing our capacity to address and identify emerging public health threats,” Halt said.
There are more headwinds than just the CDC budget.
A study released Dec. 3 by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases found that many young people are getting vaccine advice from social media.
According to the Baltimore Sun:
• In the foundation’s 2024 survey, 55% of American adults trusted the CDC, down to 13% in 2025.
• Trust in the advice of doctors, nurses and pharmacists fell from 75% in 2024 to 44% this year, and 44% also found guidance on vaccinations either unclear or muddled.
• For Gen Z, 15% of adults aged 18 to 28 said they trust information found on social media to inform their vaccine decisions.
• Social media tied with the CDC for trustworthiness among adults aged 18 to 34, the poll found.
The Crozer Health debacle
To address this, she said the county health department is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, trying to rebuild trust in the community, working with health professionals and working with county council on budgeting. Halt also spoke to what the department has been doing in light of the Crozer Health closures.
In the midst of bankruptcy proceedings, Prospect Medical Holdings closed the two remaining Crozer Health hospitals, Taylor Hospital and Crozer-Chester Medical Center, in the spring.
The other two, Springfield Hospital and Delaware County Memorial Hospital, had been closed in 2022.
Halt noted that 45% of the county’s EMS system had been provided by Crozer Health.
“That was a major, major issue and we helped secure funding that gave some breathing room to the municipalities that did not have this in their budget for the year,” she said, adding that allowed the municipalities to provide ambulance service.
She also noted the department partnered with others to organize community events to help people find community care and access services. She said these events continue on a regular basis.
Work in progress
Halt said the department’s Wellness Line has been going full steam since the hospitals closed to answer people’s questions and direct them to the care that they need.
The department also had to find places for patients in the Crozer Health system to receive services, and they also helped with job fairs for those impacted by these closures.
“Trying to find spots for everybody was going until a couple hours before Crozer closed,” Halt said, noting that of the 100 they had to move, many had complicated medical conditions and some were on Medicaid at a time when other local hospitals were pretty full. “Not only were we finding them spots but we had to find ambulance services to get them there. That, with those last couple of days, was very, very trying for everybody involved.”
Of the health inspection situation, she said the court has told the county health department and the 13 municipalities who took legal action to perform these themselves to find a way to work together.
Sidebar: Proposed CDC budget cuts
According to the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health:
• The FY 2026 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services budget proposal would cut CDC funding by $5 billion, shifting over $1 billion to other HHS operating and staff divisions. This results in a net $3.8 billion cut, and a resultant FY 26 budget that is 42% less than CDC’s FY 2024 budget.
• Overall, state economies would lose $5.4 billion in their gross domestic products. The loss to state economies would be about 40% greater than the federal savings, as losses ripple through state and local economies. In other words, for every $1 the federal government saves, state and local economies would lose $1.40.
• About 42,000 jobs would be lost nationwide in 2026 if the proposed CDC budget cut were to become law. About one-third of the jobs lost would be in sectors outside of public health.
• State and local tax revenues would fall by more than $240 million because of the economic and employment losses across the nation.
• The greatest loss would occur in Georgia, where CDC is headquartered. Georgia’s GDP would be about $1.9 billion less as a result of the CDC budget cuts.
• Economic and employment losses are projected for every state. States losing over 1,000 jobs each include Georgia, California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania.
• Some of these losses have already been incurred because of cuts to CDC staffing and grants that have occurred since January. However, the full scope cannot be estimated because HHS has not shared sufficient information.