CDC disease detectives exempted from Trump hiring freeze, averting cut to program

The Department of Health and Human Services has granted an exemption to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hire a new class of its disease detectives, multiple CDC officials said, averting a feared halving of the highly selective fellowship. 

Each year, the CDC usually hires a new class of its Epidemic Intelligence Service officers to replace those graduating from the agency's two-year program. 

Nicknamed the CDC's "disease detectives," officers are often dispatched around the country to support the agency's response to investigating outbreaks and other health emergencies, or assigned to work with CDC teams or health departments.