Following a fatal shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, agency staff are expressing frustration over Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s history of vaccine criticism.
The suspected shooter, Patrick White, 30, of Kennesaw, Georgia, allegedly told a neighbor that he believed the COVID-19 vaccines had made him sick, a source told NBC News. While his motive remains unconfirmed, the attack on Friday, which left one police officer dead, has intensified concerns among public health workers.
For some employees, the shooting highlights a growing hostility they feel has been shaped by Kennedy’s long-standing promotion of vaccine misinformation. “There’s a lot of misinformation, a lot of really dangerous rhetoric that’s currently being spread by the current administration, that makes us seem like villains,” said CDC employee Elizabeth Soda. “So it’s not at all surprising… that people are going to listen to our leaders.”
Kennedy has a well-documented history of opposing established vaccine science. In 2021, he described the COVID-19 shot as the “deadliest vaccine ever made” and filed a petition requesting that the Food and Drug Administration revoke its authorization. Just last week, he terminated 22 contracts for developing mRNA vaccines, claiming on social media that the technology “poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses.”
On Monday, Kennedy visited the CDC headquarters, where he was shown shattered windows across the campus and met with the widow of the killed officer. In an email to staff on Saturday, he called the shooting “deeply unsettling.” An HHS spokesperson, Andrew Nixon, said Kennedy “has unequivocally condemned the horrific attack and remains fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of CDC employees.” Nixon added, “This is a time to stand in solidarity with our public health workforce, not a moment for the media to exploit a tragedy for political gain.”
Kennedy has not yet publicly addressed whether his past statements about vaccines may have contributed to the violence.
In employee group chats, staffers have voiced their anger. “People feel like this is a natural progression when you spend years denigrating science and public health, spread misinformation about vaccines and publicly attack federal workers,” said one CDC employee who was granted anonymity for fear of repercussions.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, suggested the COVID-19 vaccine has become an easy “scapegoat” for the losses people endured during the pandemic. He noted that threats against public health experts like himself and Dr. Anthony Fauci have become common, and the CDC shooting has heightened his own sense of risk.
CDC employees have been instructed to work remotely this week, with a virtual all-staff meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
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