Federal health officials have been instructed to temporarily stop any “external communications” to the public, according to two officials with knowledge of the situation.

The move impacts everything from major food recalls to vital public health warnings. Experts explain what that means for you and what scares them.

As the bird flu virus continues to spread through the United States among poultry, dairy cows and several recent human cases among poultry workers, on Tuesday the Trump administration ordered all communications from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop.

President Trump has imposed temporary freezes at the National Institutes of Health on meetings, travel, communications and hiring, citing the need to review protocols.