Recent media stories about the status of cruise ship health inspections have confused companies and consumers because of staff reductions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, the CDC is continuing the inspections under the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), according to a statement by an agency spokesperson to Food Safety News.
“This work has not stopped, as the VSP is primarily staffed by USPHS (U.S. Public Health Service officers), commissioned officers who were not subject to the reduction in force,” according to the CDC’s response to questions from Food Safety News.
The cuts mean that only 12 U.S. Public Health Service officers are now responsible for all of the inspections of cruise ships docking at U.S. ports. Previously, there were 24 employees in the program. As with many programs under the Health and Human Services umbrella, the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program is entirely funded by user fees, with cruise ship companies paying for the services. No tax dollars go to the program, with all staff pay coming from the user fees.
Some media reports have stated that the VSP has been dismantled by the “reduction in force” initiative by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The secretary has promised to fire 10,000 people from the department. There have been at least 2,400 people fired from the CDC.
A report from CBS News said a CDC official reported all of the full-time employees in the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program are now off the job and multiple officials told the news outlet that the agency’s ability to investigate outbreaks and conduct health inspections has been severely impacted.
The sanitation program is supposed to provide inspections of every large vessel twice a year. The epidemiologist tasked with leading the agency’s outbreak response on cruise ships was included in the firings, multiple CDC officials said.
The firings of inspection personnel come as the CDC is in the midst of two outbreak investigations aboard cruise ships. Since January, there have been a dozen foodborne illness outbreaks aboard ships, resulting in hundreds of illnesses.
The CDC contends that its inspection program is continuing. According to a statement to Food Safety News, the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program continues its activities, including:
Unannounced sanitation inspections;
Monitoring and assisting with gastrointestinal outbreaks and tracking and reporting these illnesses;
Planning reviews for new and renovated cruise ships and equipment reviews; and
Variance review and processing.
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