The Trump administration’s freeze on communications from U.S. health agencies is leading to another disruption: the abrupt cancellation of scientific meetings.

The move covers a swath of health conditions, from a Presidential Advisory Council meeting on antibiotic-resistant germs to National Institutes of Health evaluations of grant applications for research into cancer and other diseases.

People registering for that antibiotic resistance meeting next week were greeted with a message Thursday that the sudden cancellation comes “as the new Administration considers its plan for managing federal policy and public communications.”

The new policy was a surprise, as some of those NIH grant-evaluation meetings were interrupted Wednesday by officials saying they had to shut down midstream. Unclear is whether it will lift in time for federal researchers to present data at scientific conferences like a major HIV meeting in early March.

A statement from the NIH said: “HHS has issued a pause on mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health. This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization.”

A lengthy delay could have ripple effects as the NIH is the nation’s largest funder of medical research — important not just for drug discoveries but for jobs in universities and other labs.

HHS officials did not respond to requests for comment on the pause, which was first reported by The Washington Post. Four federal health officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue confirmed the communication pause to the AP.

A former HHS official said Wednesday that it’s not unusual for incoming administrations to pause agency communications for review. But typically, officials working on the president’s transition team have the process for issuing documents running smoothly by inauguration day.

“The executive branch is a hierarchy,” said Steven Grossman, who now consults for food and drug companies, in an email. “Whether stated publicly or not, every new administration wants important commitments and positions to wait until new teams are in place and some semblance of hierarchy restored.”

A pause is reasonable as a changing executive branch takes steps to become coordinated, said Dr. Ali Khan, a former CDC outbreak investigator who is now dean of the University of Nebraska’s public health college.

“The only concern would be is if this is a prelude to going back to a prior approach of silencing the agencies around a political narrative,” he added.

During his first term, President Donald Trump’s political appointees tried to gain control over the CDC’s MMWR journal, which had published information about the COVID-19 pandemic that conflicted with messaging from the White House.

Fink wrote in her memo that some exceptions would be made for communications affecting “critical health, safety, environmental, financial or nation security functions,” but that those would be subject to review. The FDA on Tuesday and Wednesday posted notices about warning letters sent to companies and a drug safety notice.

A consumer advocacy group said the communications pause could still threaten public safety.

Americans depend on timely information from the CDC, the FDA and other agencies to avoid foodborne illnesses and stay aware of other health issues, said Dr. Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

“When it comes to stopping outbreaks, every second counts,” Lurie said in a statement. “Confusion around the vaguely worded gag order is likely to lead to unnecessary delay in publishing urgent public alerts during active outbreaks.”

He was echoed by Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a University of Southern California public health expert.

“Local health officials and doctors depend on the CDC to get disease updates, timely prevention, testing and treatment guidelines and information about outbreaks,” Klausner wrote in an email. “Shutting down public health communication stops a basic function of public health. Imagine if the government turned off fire sirens or other warning systems.”

___

AP health writer Matthew Perrone in Washington contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.