Scientific meetings were canceled, and research data on the bird flu outbreak was delayed, amid confusion over the directive.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is going dark, along with other federal agencies within the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This week, the returning Trump administration told these agencies to stop talking to the public—for how long, no one knows.

Amid a deluge of executive actions, the Trump administration has directed federal health agencies to pause external communications, such as regular scientific reports, updates to websites and health advisories,

The Trump administration has put a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month

The agencies are charged with making decisions that touch the lives of every American and are the source of crucial information to health-care providers.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed federal health agencies to pause all external communications, such as health advisories, weekly scientific reports, updates to websites and social media posts,

As the new Administration considers its plan for managing the federal policy and public communications processes, it is important that the President’s appointees and designee