NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The nation's top public health agency says about 180 employees who were laid off two weeks ago can come back to work.
Emails went out Tuesday to some Centers for Disease Control and Prevention probationary employees who got termination notices last month, according to current and former CDC employees.
A message seen by the AP was sent with the subject line, 鈥淩ead this e-mail immediately.鈥� It said that 鈥渁fter further review and consideration,鈥� a Feb. 15 termination notice has been rescinded and the employee was cleared to return to work on Wednesday. 鈥淵ou should return to duty under your previous work schedule,鈥� it said. "We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused."
About 180 people received reinstatement emails, according to two federal health officials who were briefed on the tally but were not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It鈥檚 not clear how many of the reinstated employees returned to work Wednesday. And it's also unclear whether the employees would be spared from widespread job cuts that are expected soon .
The CDC is the latest federal agency trying to coax back workers soon after they were dismissed as part of President Donald Trump鈥檚 and billionaire Elon Musk鈥檚 . Similar reversals have been made among employees responsible for , food safety, , and .
The Atlanta-based CDC is charged with protecting Americans from outbreaks and other public health threats. Before the job cuts, the agency had about 13,000 employees.
Last month, Trump administration officials told the CDC that nearly 1,300 of the agency's probationary employees would be let go. That tally quickly changed, as the number who actually got termination notices turned out to be 700 to 750.
With 180 more people now being told they can return, the actual number of CDC employees terminated so far would seem to stand somewhere around 550. But federal health officials haven't confirmed any specifics.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month pledged 鈥� 鈥� at the department, but HHS officials have not provided detail about CDC staff changes and did not respond to emailed requests on Tuesday and Wednesday. An agency spokesman, Andrew Nixon, previously told the AP only that CDC had more full-time employees after the job cuts than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those who received reinstatement emails included outbreak responders in two fellowship programs 鈥� a two-year training that prepares recent graduates to enter the public health workforce through field experience and a that brings in doctorate-holding professionals.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock celebrated the reinstatements, but said it's not enough.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 announcement is a welcome relief, but until all fired CDC employees are restored, our country鈥檚 public health and national security will continue to be at risk,鈥� Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday.
___
Associated Press writer Michelle R. Smith in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press
