By Andrea Shalal, Leah Douglas, Ahmed Aboulenein and Ted Hesson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Almost half of the probationary workers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others at the National Institutes of Health are being forced out as President Donald Trump overhauls government agencies,

Department of Health and Human Services officials expected most of the agency’s roughly 5,200 probationary employees to be fired.

As many as 1,300 probationary employees at CDC and 1,500 at NIH are losing their jobs. Many fear for the future of public health and scientific research.