A massive wave of job cuts got underway at US health agencies Tuesday, with some employees receiving early-morning emails saying their jobs were eliminated and some unable to access the building when they arrived at work.

The Health and Human Services Department plans include virtually eliminating some offices focused on HIV prevention as well as minority health.

Thousands of people responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, monitoring the safety of food and medicine, and administering health insurance programs for nearly half of the country were laid off Tuesday at the nation's top health agencies.

Thousands of people responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, monitoring the safety of food and medicine, and administering health

CDC, FDA, NIH are among agencies shedding thousands of workers. Some senior leaders and entire divisions are being cut.

Switzer Memorial Building in Washington on Tuesday.Credit...Roberto Schmidt/Agence France-Presse — Health job cuts: The Trump administration laid off thousands of federal health workers, dismissing senior leaders and top scientists in a purge that outside experts and former officials said would cause an immeasurable loss of expertise.

Employees across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began receiving notices of dismissal Tuesday, as part of a major overhaul expected to ultimately lay off up to 10,000 people

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced last week that 10,000 employees would be let go, and about a third are expected to be cut from the agency overseeing food and drug safety. Tuesday's layoffs included several top officials within HHS,

Employees across the massive U.S. Health and Human Services Department received notices Tuesday that their jobs were being eliminated, part of a sweeping overhaul designed to vastly shrink the agencie