By Kelly Young
The U.S. government shut down on Tuesday. Here is a quick sampling of how healthcare is affected:
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The FDA will continue emergency work involving human safety, such as high-risk recalls, and civil and criminal law enforcement. But regular inspections and lab research are on hold.
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The CDC is unable to run its influenza-tracking program. Tracking of other infectious diseases is also on hold.
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The CDC published this week’s MMWR ahead of schedule and won’t resume publication until the shutdown ends.
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The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center will not be accepting new patients for clinical trials. Ongoing clinical trials will continue.
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Enrollments in the new health insurance exchanges (www.healthcare.gov or 800-318-2596), which began on Tuesday and are the source of much of the political rancor, were not halted by the shutdown because they rely on different streams of funding.
