The agency says labs should accelerate testing on patients hospitalized with the flu within 24 hours of their admission.

The pause also applies to anything intended to be published in the Federal Register, where the executive branch communicates rules and regulations, and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientific publication.

Proponents aim to end a cycle of nicotine addiction, concerned that fruity and candy flavors are drawing in young people. Opponents say it helps people quit smoking traditional cigarettes.

Scientific meetings were canceled, and research data on the bird flu outbreak was delayed, amid confusion over the directive.

The Trump administration’s directive to halt external communications from federal health agencies raised concern Wednesday among Bay Area health experts and local agencies, who warned that the pause could have significant consequences for public well-being — especially amid ongoing threats like the H5N1 avian influenza,

A number of other health agencies are also operating without acting heads, including the FDA and the National Institutes of Health.

The Trump Administration potentially issued a pause on a variety of communications going out from the nation’s top health agencies, according to reporting

The Trump administration has put a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month.

HHS, CDC, FDA, NIH -- to pause all external communications, including weekly scientific reports, health advisories, data updates, and other information. (AP) Meanwhile, the HHS website scrubbed search results for the word "abortion,

Public health experts say there could be massive implications after President Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization.

In instructions delivered one day after the new administration took office, officials at the FDA , CDC and NIH said they were barred from publishing scientific reports, updating websites or publishing health advisories.

The exit will cut a huge chunk from the World Health Organization’s budget, but the short-term financial gain for the US could come at the cost of disease outbreaks flaring up across the world.