Scoop: Virginia health department faces layoffs after $11.4B in federal cuts
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Nurses waiting to administer COVID shots at a Virginia vaccination clinic in 2021. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
The Virginia Department of Health is facing layoffs after the Trump administration announced it's cutting $11.4 billion in COVID-related funding nationwide, Axios has learned.
The big picture: VDH officials told Axios the agency was notified Tuesday that "several" of those grants will be terminated early, affecting "current staffing and ongoing projects."
- They didn't say how many people will be losing their jobs, provide details on what the grants were funding, or say how much federal funding was nixed.
- DOGE's website listed more than $145 million in grants cut from VDH, as of Sunday. But the figures on that site are often filled with errors and outdated data.
Zoom in: Community health workers, nurses and epidemiologists statewide have already begun receiving termination notices, several current and former VDH employees tell Axios.
- Axios is not naming them because they weren't authorized to speak on behalf of the agency.
- One worker who was laid off tells Axios that VDH's central office sent out an email Tuesday night about the grant changes.
- By Wednesday morning, people were laid off and locked out of the system.
- The email, obtained by Axios, also announced a hiring freeze "as we assess the available resources and priorities."
Between the lines: The COVID-related grants from the CDC weren't just going toward COVID, local health departments nationwide told NBC News and CNN.
- They had also been used to improve bird flu and measles testing, reporting of infectious disease outbreaks, support for substance use programs, and more.
State of play: VDH, like many state health departments, overwhelmingly relies on federal money with strict spending guidelines.
- At least 43% of VDH's full-time workforce in 2021 was propped up by contractors.
- And when the federal money expires, usually so do those roles.
Flashback: Even before these latest funding cuts, VDH officials were warning about the effect of losing federal dollars.
- In a budget request filed last fall, VDH said it had unexpectedly lost $4.5 million in federal funding from the CDC for fiscal year 2026.
- That accounted for nearly 70% of VDH's federal funds toward STI prevention and control and supported 84 full-time STI prevention and surveillance workers.
- VDH also said it had lost federal funding for more than half of the budget for HIV and STI testing in local health departments statewide.
What we're watching: VDH is still assessing what the effect will be on the agency and the organizations it partners with, but officials said "the overall ongoing work of public health will continue as we navigate these changes."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.