Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has been notified that some COVID-era grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are being terminated. An abrupt rescission of $125 million in previously awarded grant funds will impact 22 contracts and over 100 staff positions. The COVID-era funding, first appropriated under the Trump Administration from the CARES Act, was to equip public health agencies with the necessary funding needed to ensure that Americans never again would be impacted by the lasting impact of a widespread pandemic like COVID-19. Without this funding, CDPH will no longer have the resources to be able to investigate critical surveillance data and immunization coverage that allows monitoring and rapid response to outbreaks in settings such as schools, health care facilities, and other congregate settings – giving Chicagoans up-to-date information on what diseases are surging. The future damage of broad cuts to CDPH and other public health departments nationwide is uncertain, however communities will see fewer immunization clinics and vaccination events; decreased ability to monitor and respond to infectious diseases; less training, testing, and supplies to prevent the spread of diseases in congregate settings like nursing homes, schools, shelters, and daycares; the decreased ability for laboratories to test for emerging and high-impact diseases such as Ebola and H5N1 avian influenza; and more.