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The San Antonio AIDS Foundation was one of several organizations across Texas to receive a letter from the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) cautioning them to pause any programming paid for by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's HIV Prevention and Surveillance Funding program.
DSHS Director of Media Relations Chris Van Deusen explained that the existing funding expired at the end of May, and the state was now waiting to hear from the CDC about whether that money will be renewed for another contract period.
These funds, which add up to $400 million throughout the course of the grant program, were awarded to local health departments last summer and are expected to fund HIV prevention programs for five years.
Last month, however, the Trump administration unveiled a 2026 budget proposal that cut $3.59 billion from the CDC and eliminated the federal health agency's prevention division.
The silence from the CDC on the status of the contracts concerned Cherise Rohr-Allegrini, CEO of the San Antonio AIDS Foundation (SAAF).
The CDC's HIV prevention and surveillance funding is the primary source of support for SAAF's testing program, which offers free tests and counseling for those concerned that they may have contracted HIV.
If a client tests negative for HIV but remains at high risk for infection, counselors will then connect them with resources that will allow them to start PrEP, a medication that prevents HIV infection.
This program also offers free testing for sexually transmitted infections like syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, with a goal of providing early intervention. All three STIs are a concern in San Antonio, which received a “number one” among Texas cities in a recent study for its rate of STIs.
Rohr-Allegrini pointed out that syphilis is particularly concerning when an infected person is pregnant.
"For pregnant women, you have the risk of congenital syphilis, which can lead to birth defects in the child," Rohr-Allegrini explained. "It could cause stillbirth, so we want to make sure that people with syphilis are getting identified."
Texas was in the bottom five states in congenital syphilis rates in a recent CDC analysis, with more than 900 congenital syphilis cases in Texas in 2023.
Despite the concerns over funding and the future of the testing program, Rohr-Allegrini was cautious but hopeful that this was just a miscommunication that will be quickly resolved, enabling her to restart the testing program in a week or so.
"I want to believe it's just a delay, but it very well may not be a delay. It may be a sign of something bigger, and I'm very scared of that," she added.
The Department of State Health Services offered no further information. "We will update our contractors as soon as we have more information," Van Deuson said.
