The photo shows a male hand on the phone isolated on white

Effective immediately, U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization. In response, the Associate Press reported that U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel will immediately stop their collaborations and "await further guidance." 

The memo, distributed by CDC officials and uncovered by the AP, outlined that the stop-work policy applied to “all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means — in person or virtual.” It also says CDC staff are not allowed to visit WHO offices.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that would eventually withdraw the U.S. from WHO, but the process takes time. Not only does it require the approval of Congress, but the U.S. must also provide one-years notice.

In the meantime, the worry is that a withdrawal from WHO would impact global health efforts by diminishing international coordination, weakening the ability to respond effectively to pandemics, and potentially jeopardizing access to crucial health information. 

Industry experts predict that this will increase reliance on the expertise of the jan/san industry. Just like during the pandemic, the expectation is that professionals in the cleaning industry will be approached for future insight on how to combat infections and outbreaks.