A projected reduction of $40 million in federal funds for public health could lead county officials in San Diego to struggle to maintain services ranging from wastewater management to the investigation of infectious diseases in the area’s long-term care facilities.
The financial impact stems from the Trump administration’s recent decision to cancel multiple national grant programs. This includes funds meant for constructing new public health laboratories as well as resources aimed at addressing health inequalities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A detailed assessment shared with the county supervisors earlier this week highlights possible repercussions. The report indicates that these grants fund approximately 91 public health positions outright, sustain initiatives delivering vaccinations to house-bound individuals, uphold public health efforts within community schools, track people who have been exposed to measles so as to stop further spread of infection, and deter prenatal transmission of hepatitis B.
Programs operating under contracts are similarly targeted, such as the initiative that oversees vaccine distribution in shelters, clinics, and to those unable to leave their homes. Also affected is the quick-reaction unit tasked with conducting infection testing as swiftly as feasible to curb the transmission of contagious diseases.
The funds allocated for infrastructure projects are diminishing as well. Approximately $3 million from the leftover grant money designated for the construction of the county’s new public health laboratory has been cut. According to Elizabeth Hernandez, who serves as the director of public health services for the county, this reduction means that acquiring machinery able to analyze local wastewater for opioid traces will be delayed indefinitely.
Thus, having automation equipment capable of automating the handling of medical tests provides a resource that might enable the laboratory to swiftly and precisely monitor disease outbreaks.
Hernandez stated that despite the challenges, the laboratory, constructed at a cost of approximately $93 million, remains scheduled to open next month. It will feature most of the planned enhancements—particularly those enabling genetic profiling of disease-causing agents. This capability facilitates quicker identification of virus and bacterium strains behind recent outbreaks, aiding epidemiologists in tracing their origins and predicting future spread.
A proposal to shift routine wastewater testing for infectious diseases from local academic laboratories to the county itself remains one of the key aspects of the new facility being developed at the county’s operations center located on Overland Avenue in Kearny Mesa.
However, the idea for a portable laboratory that can be transported to areas where new outbreaks are detected has been put on pause.
Similarly, the director mentioned that efforts are being made to locate alternative funding sources or merge them with presently unfilled roles, concerning those positions whose grant financing has abruptly ceased. This funding spans both the present fiscal year and the 2025-2026 period, offering some breathing room to explore options.
“It hasn’t been determined yet,” Hernandez stated.
In total, San Diego County anticipates spending approximately $209 million on public health for this fiscal year and projects expenditures of around $211 million for the upcoming year, with roughly 775 employees involved. According to Hernandez, nearly 52% of the overall budget originates from federal funds.
When the grant money was lost, Terra Lawson-Remer, who is serving as the acting chair of the county board of supervisors, responded right away. She issued a statement on Thursday evening condemning these reductions.
“We need to call this what it is: sabotage,” Lawson-Remer said. “The so-called Department of Government Efficiency isn’t about efficiency — it’s about dismantling the public systems that serve working families, so billionaires can claim the government doesn’t work.”
Kristian Andersen, a virologist affiliated with the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, frequently collaborates with public health agencies nationwide to study various viral threats. He noted that San Diego has gained recognition for generating highly comprehensive reports on communicable diseases prevalent within the area.
Collaborating with Scripps and UC San Diego, this area was one of the initial regions in the country to perform wastewater analysis. This approach enabled the early identification of rises in viral genetic material, indicating a potential spike in infections prior to the onset of symptoms.
He mentioned that reducing public health funds at the local health department level could impair the crucial capability to identify emerging dangers swiftly, thereby losing valuable time needed to prevent outbreaks from escalating.
"Andersen stated that the worst-case scenario would be observing an increased prevalence of various illnesses within the population, which is certainly not where we wish to head," he explained.
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