Il Presidente degli Stati Uniti Barack Obama lavora freneticamente in queste ore a un’intesa con i vertici del Partito Repubblicano sia sul budget statale sia sull’innalzamento del tetto del debito, ma una soluzione appare ancora lontana. Il Congresso non ha approvato il bilancio provvisorio della macchina statale, provocando il cosiddetto «shutdown», la «chiusura». In seguito al blocco dei fondi, è cessata con effetto immediato l’erogazione dei cosiddetti «servizi statali non essenziali»: in soldoni circa 800.000 lavoratori statali hanno lo stipendio bloccato, e questo ha causato la chiusura di musei, sportelli ministeriali, parchi naturali ma anche medical libraries e database.

Ecco una panoramica dei messaggi di scuse apparsi tra ieri e oggi sui principali siti web del settore:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
“Due to the temporary shutdown of federal government services, this web site will not be updated or maintained until government operations are authorized to resume.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
“Due to the lapse in government funding, only web sites supporting excepted functions will be updated unless otherwise funded. As a result, the information on this website may not be up to date, the transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at www.usa.gov.”

ClinicalTrials.gov
“Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at www.usa.gov.”

DOCLINE
“NLM is Closed. Due to the lapse in government funding, NLM ILL accounts are temporarily inactive to prevent possible delays in the routing of requests. DOCLINE remains available. NLM staff will not be able to respond to ILL requests or DOCLINE customer service inquiries until appropriations are enacted. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at USA.gov. If you experience a problem in DOCLINE, please check your DOCLINE browser settings”.

ERIC.ed.gov
“Dear Users, Due to a lapse of appropriations and the partial shutdown of the Federal Government, the systems that host eric.ed.gov have been shut down. Services will be restored as soon as a continuing resolution to provide funding has been enacted.”

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
“Due to the Government shutdown, information on this website may not be up to date. For information about Government services, visit USA.gov.”

GRANTS.gov
“GRANTS.GOV ALERT: Grants.gov Operational Status The Department of Health and Human Services anticipates that the Grants.gov system will remain in an operational status, but with reduced federal support staff presence, should a lapse in appropriations occur. In addition, we anticipate that the Grants.gov Contact Center will remain available, and provide assistance to callers. HHS, as Managing Partner, in collaboration with OMB and the Grants.gov Program Management Office, will keep the federal grantor community updated as to the status of the Grants.gov system as plans evolve in the event of a government shutdown.”

Library of Congress
“Due to the temporary shutdown of the federal government, the Library of Congress is closed to the public and researchers beginning October 1, 2013 until further notice. All public events are cancelled and web sites are inaccessible except the legislative information sites THOMAS.gov and beta.congress.gov.”

MedlinePlus
“Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this web site may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at USA.gov.”

National Center for Biotechnology Information
“Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this web site may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at www.usa.gov.”

National Library of Medicine
“Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this web site may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at USA.gov.”

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine
“NN/LM SE/A (and other RML offices) are not affected by the government shutdown and is open during regular business hours 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM ET on weekdays.”

PubMed
“PubMed is open, however it is being maintained with minimal staffing due to the lapse in government funding. Information will be updated to the extent possible, and the agency will attempt to respond to urgent operational inquiries. For updates regarding government operating status see USA.gov“.

PubMed Central
“Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this web site may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at www.usa.gov.”

PubMed Health
“Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this web site may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at www.usa.gov.”

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
“Due to the temporary shutdown of federal government services, this web site will not be updated or maintained until government operations are authorized to resume.”