Violence at CDC Highlights Growing Threat to Public Health Workers Amid Vaccine Misinformation

As hostility toward immunization experts intensifies, officials grapple with safety, trust in the post-pandemic fake news era

Natalie C. Frank, Ph.D August 13, 2025

Автор: James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Newsroom Image Library: Buildings & Facilities. Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain]

ATLANTA, GA — The recent shooting at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, carried out by a man reportedly angered over COVID-19 vaccinations, demonstrates the continuous danger faced by public health workers even years after the height of the pandemic. The attack, which claimed the life of DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, left the CDC campus shocked and was an strong indication of the ongoing risks associated with widespread vaccine misinformation.

For many in public health, the incident, while tragic, was not completely unexpected. “All of us, anybody who stands up for science or vaccines, will at some level get hate mail or a phone call that’s unnerving or a death threat,” said Paul Offit, co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine and head of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Four years ago, as hospitals were inundated with unvaccinated patients, attacks and criticism of healthcare leaders, school board members, and local officials became increasingly common. Public figures were disparaged with comparisons to the Taliban, Nazis, and leaders of Japanese internment camps. In some cases, these tensions escalated to violence and harassment, worsening the divide over public health measures.

Offit points to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a major instigator of these hostilities. Kennedy has been a prominent voice in spreading misinformation about vaccines, scientists, and public health agencies, often portraying them as responsible for mass injury, harm and death. Many public health figures have reported that Kennedy’s rhetoric has directly inspired threats, intimidation, and acts of aggression.

During a visit to the CDC campus on Monday, Kennedy condemned political violence, insisting that no one should face harm while carrying out public health duties. Yet, he also criticized the agency’s pandemic response, stating in a Scripps News interview, “One of the things that we saw during COVID is that the government was overreaching in its efforts to persuade the public to get vaccinated, and they were saying things that are not always true.”

A spokesperson for Kennedy quickly pushed back against claims linking vaccine misinformation to the CDC shooting.

“This narrative is pure fiction, built on anonymous complaints and a willful disregard for the facts,” said Andrew Nixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Secretary Kennedy is not advancing an ‘anti-vaccine agenda’ — he is advancing a pro-safety, pro-transparency, and pro-accountability agenda.”

Authorities have identified the shooter as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White, who criticized and opposed COVID-19 vaccinations online before the attack. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, White also exhibited suicidal thoughts weeks before the shooting, triggering law enforcement intervention. White died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing Officer Rose on Friday.

In the aftermath, CDC employees were asked to remove old CDC parking decals from their vehicles. Some had already taken precautions to reduce visibility, including avoiding uniforms associated with the public health service, according to Yolanda Jacobs, a union representative for CDC workers.

Dr. Susan Monarez, who recently assumed the role of CDC director, addressed employees during an all-hands meeting Tuesday. “We know that misinformation can be dangerous. Not only to health, but to those that trust us and those we want to trust,” Monarez said. She emphasized that violence cannot undermine the agency’s mission to protect public health.

The CDC, charged with monitoring disease outbreaks and responding to health threats, has faced major challenges, including widespread staff reductions, key resignations, and heated debate over vaccine policies that Kennedy has sought to alter.

“What happened on Friday is a direct result of that misinformation,” said Sarah Boim, a former CDC employee whose position was eliminated earlier this year. “Health Secretary Kennedy is one of the biggest pushers of misinformation.” Boim added that the attack left her emotionally devastated. “My friends and family still work in those buildings. My mom works in one of those buildings.”

In response to the shooting, officials are reviewing security protocols and urging employees to report any new threats, especially those fueled by false information regarding the CDC and vaccination programs.

The roots of anti-vaccine hostility began well before the pandemic. In 2019, an activist attacked California State Senator Richard Pan, live-streaming the assault on Facebook after Pan sponsored legislation tightening vaccine exemption requirements. Another assailant threw blood at Pan and other lawmakers.

Kennedy’s involvement at the California Capitol, where large posters depicted Pan with the word “LIAR” in blood-red paint, has drawn sharp criticism. Pan, a pediatrician, directly links Kennedy’s rhetoric to threats against health officials and now the CDC. “And you wonder why someone would go shoot up the CDC,” Pan said. “Because he basically told them that those are the people you should hurt.”