CDC Fires Cruise Inspectors Despite Rising Virus Outbreaks
Thinking of heading out on a cruise this summer? Well, you may want to think again now that the CDC has gutted its cruise inspection team.
Per CBS News, the Vessel Sanitation Program’s entire full-time staff is gone. Though a dozen public health services officers will remain on the job, this essentially limits the agency’s ability to investigate and monitor outbreaks on cruise ships. Though this would appear to be part of the federal government’s downsizing efforts, the federal government doesn’t fund those roles, per the report.
The cruise ship industry finances the team to pay for the required two visits to larger ships at least twice a year. In 2025, there have already been more than a dozen documented cases of norovirus on cruise ships, which is getting close to all of last year’s total of 18.
Novovirus spreads quickly in areas where many people are together. It can be spread by food or water that includes tiny pieces of infected feces or vomit. It impacts young children and the elderly most and can live on surfaces for weeks.
Despite the layoffs, a spokesperson for the CDC says the ship inspections will continue.
“This work has not stopped, as the VSP is primarily staffed by USPHS (United States Public Health Service) commissioned officers who were not subject to the reduction in force,” the CDC told USA Today.
However, according to CDC officials, some of whom spoke anonymously, the VSP team was already understaffed. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has cut 2400 jobs in his agency, which includes the CDC. This is to shrink the federal government “to better serve Americans.”
Erik Svendsen, the former head of the CDC’s Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice who was laid off this year when his department was eliminated, said that without civilian staff, the VSP will struggle to be effective in their role of protecting cruise patrons from illness aboard cruise lines.
“None of the civilian staff are there to support them. So I don’t know how long they will be able to sustain their mission alone without any support,” Svendsen said.
The last time numbers were available, in 2023, there were 34.7 million cruise passengers. Estimates say there will be 39.4 million cruise travelers by 2027.
