On Aug. 8, the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Georgia was violently attacked after a shooter fired hundreds of rounds toward the building, leading to the death of police officer David Rose. Now, current and former staffers have written to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., asking him to stop spreading inaccurate information about health.
The shooter reportedly targeted the CDC headquarters because of his misgivings about the COVID-19 vaccine. RFK Jr. has previously shared his doubts and mistrust about vaccines, including the measles vaccine. Furthermore, he has gone on a termination spree at the CDC and publicly referred to the government agency as a “cesspool of corruption.”
In the letter from health workers, there was also a section that directly addressed members of Congress about the shooting. According to CNN, the letter in part read, “the violent August 8th attack on CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta was not random.” Some health workers signed the letter anonymously, fearing retribution. The letter continued: “The attack came amid growing mistrust in public institutions, driven by politicized rhetoric that has turned public health professionals from trusted experts into targets of villainization – and now, violence,” wrote the staffers, who emphasized they signed “in our own personal capacities.”
RFK Jr.’s time at the health department has been chaotic on many levels. He has encouraged the consumption of raw milk, claiming it has health benefits that cannot be found in pasteurized milk. He has also flirted with fringe groups pushing bleach as a cure-all for diseases such as HIV and autism. This makes the call from health workers all the more urgent. They are asking RFK Jr. to be more careful with his words, especially toward people who are more trusting of politicking than scientific research. According to the health workers, RFK Jr. “is complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.”
A spokesperson from HHS chose to use this moment to firmly stand with the employees at the CDC. The spokesperson said the department is standing strongly with the agency and called the CDC “a shining star among global health agencies.” They also added that RFK Jr. had traveled to Atlanta to offer support to CDC employees working there.
Still, RFK Jr. is being criticized by health workers who see his response as tepid. The logic among them is that he needs to disavow the fringe members of MAHA who are being pulled into extremist acts such as this. The HHS employees who wrote the letter expressed this in writing.
The former principal deputy director of the CDC, Dr. Anne Schuchat, had the harshest words for RFK Jr. She said, “An attack on a US government agency should be a moment in time when we come together. Instead, Secretary Kennedy continues to spread misinformation at the risk of American lives.”
This is by far the most criticism RFK Jr. has received since taking office, and with good reason. If this is what MAHA leads to, then it might be time to rethink the approach. Dr. Schuchat and the rest of the health workers just want the best for Americans, and if RFK Jr. also wants the same it might be time to listen to them too.
