A sign for the CDC sits outside of their facility at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Roybal campus in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., May 30, 2025.
Megan Varner | ReutersMore than a dozen pages on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website related to sexual and gender identity, health equity, and other topics have been taken down, CNBC has learned.
The CDC received a directive from the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the agency, to remove certain webpages by the end of the day Sept.
19, according to an internal CDC viewed by CNBC, which was sent that day to some employees whose work is related to the pages.The pages include one sexually transmitted infections and gay men, another healthy equity for people with disabilities, and additional fact sheets on asexuality and bisexuality.
Some health equity advocates say removing such resources could create gaps in access to critical health information, especially for marginalized groups, and undermine efforts to mote equitable care.The removal of "critical materials from trusted government resources endangers the health of patients and the public," a spokesperson for the LBGT PA Caucus, a nonfit moting LGBTQ+ health-care equity, said in a statement."Stripping away resources on gender identity does not erase the need, it only erodes trust, creates confusion, and places patients at greater risk," the spokesperson said.
"Clinicians and the communities they serve rely on accessible, accurate, and inclusive guidance to der safe and effective care."The did not vide details on why HHS directed the CDC to remove the pages or why it targeted certain topics.
But the topics of some of the resources taken down are longtime targets of the Trump administration, which has issued a series of executive actions that limit transgender and nonbinary people's rights and rolled back efforts to increase diversity, equity and inclusion.
In a statement, an HHS spokesperson said the "CDC continues to align their website with Administration priorities and Executive Orders." The CDC directed CNBC to HHS for .Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsCDC web page on health equity for people with disabilities was online on Aug.
27, according to the Wayback Machine, but is offline as of Sept. 26.
CDC website, Wayback MachineIt's not the first time that the administration has targeted health resources on federal agency websites.Thousands of pages across websites for the CDC and Food and Drug Administration, among other agencies, were abruptly pulled down beginning in late January under President Donald Trump's executive order barring references to gender identity in federal policies and documents.
In February, a federal judge ordered HHS, the CDC and FDA to temporarily restore public access to the pages while litigation moves forward.
That same judge ruled in July that the government unlawfully ordered the mass removal of health resources from federal sites and required agencies to review and restore the affected pages.
ing that ruling, the Trump administration reported to the court on Sept.
19 that most agencies have restoring the pages, with 185 back in compliance and only 11 CDC pages still under review, according to court documents.
It is un how many of the pages taken down this month were at issue in the lawsuit.More CNBC health coverageThe Trump administration is changing Covid, childhood vaccine recommendations – here's what it means for youU.S.
to impose 100% tariff on branded, patented drugs unless firms build plants locally, Trump saysEli Lilly to build $6.5 billion Texas manufacturing facility for obesity pill, other drugsIt is un which pages were still under review as of Sept.
19, and why the CDC took down more pages on that same day ing the ruling.Attached to the internal CDC was a spreadsheet of more than a dozen pages that the agency said had been taken down as of Sept.
19. A separate spreadsheet compiled by agency employees and viewed by CNBC included an additional site that appears to be offline.CNBC verified that the ing pages are now offline.
The digital site Wayback Machine also shows when they were last active.
Several pages were online as recently as early September, according to Wayback Machine, but it is un when the CDC officially removed all of them. STIs and Gay Men – last recorded online on Sept.
5.STI information for Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons – last recorded online on Sept. 2.
Shigella Infection Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men – last recorded online on Sept. 1.
Prevention Apaches for Viral Hepatitis in Gay and Bisexual Men – last recorded online on Aug. 30. Viral Hepatitis Among Men Who Have Sex with Men – last recorded Sept. 2.
Tuberculosis and Asian Persons – last recorded Aug. 28.
Risk of Clade 1 Mpox among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men who Have Sex With Men – last recorded July 20.CDC's CORE Commitment to Health Equity – last recorded online Jan. 30.
Health Equity in Cancer Prevention and Control – last recorded online on Sept. 1.Health Equity and Drug Overdose – last recorded online on Sept.
1.Health Equity for People with Disabilities – last recorded online on Aug. 27. Health Equity in Injury and Violence Prevention – last recorded online on Aug. 27.
National Prevention Information Network: Understanding Bisexuality – last recorded online on Nov. 23, 2024. As of Feb.
22, the page said it "is being modified to comply with President Trump's Executive Orders."National Prevention Information Network: Understanding Asexuality – last recorded online Nov. 23, 2024.
As of Feb.
21, the page said it "is being modified to comply with President Trump's Executive Orders."National Prevention Information Network: Lesbian/Bisexual Women – The page currently loads but only shows the title.
It has not been recorded on the Wayback Machine . National Prevention Information Network: Guidelines for Comprehensive Sex Education 3rd Edition – last recorded online on July 8.
Alzheimer's Communication Guide – last recorded online on June 10.Some pages listed on the spreadsheet attached to the internal CDC are still online.
That includes a page that monitors laboratory-confirmed hospitalizations among children and adults associated with respiratory syncytial virus.