CDC staff reel from shooting, harassment, vaccine panel and mass layoffs

Less than two weeks after a gunman opened fire at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, the agency is facing renewed turmoil after leaders announced a new panel to review the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. At the same time, staff are reporting harassment in the wake of the attack and absorbing the impact of more than 600 job cuts that have dismantled entire public health programs.

This week, officials confirmed that the suspect — who fired hundreds of rounds at the CDC's main campus on Aug. 8, killing a police officer — had attempted to enter the CDC visitors center two days prior, in what investigators believe was reconnaissance. 

The shooting came just days after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revoked federal funding for mRNA vaccine research — a move celebrated by anti-vaccine groups. Investigators have said the suspect was fixated on distrust of COVID vaccines.

In the days since, employees say they have been targeted with harassing phone calls. Callers have asked, "Are you resilient?" before playing the sound of gunfire. The taunts, drawn from the agency's own post-shooting messaging, have left staff shaken.

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