The recent shooting at the CDC, which killed a police officer, highlights the growing hostility towards health care workers during the ongoing pandemic. Public health workers express concern that such violence is not unexpected given the rampant misinformation about vaccines. Individuals like Paul Offit emphasize that those who defend science often experience threats. Additionally, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s rhetoric has further fueled distrust and intimidation against health professionals. Despite his condemnation of violence, Kennedy has criticized CDC's pandemic response, perpetuating division around public health actions.
"Some public health care workers say the shooting that killed a police officer and rattled the CDC campus shouldn't be surprising in the face of ongoing misinformation and animosity about the safety of immunizations."
"Just four years ago, while hospitals overflowed with unvaccinated patients, school board members, local leaders and doctors were regularly confronted in public with taunts comparing them to the Taliban, Nazis and leaders of Japanese internment camps."
"Kennedy has been a leading voice in spreading false information about vaccines, scientists and public health leaders, often using heated rhetoric that says they have caused mass death and injury."
"Kennedy, who toured the CDC campus on Monday, said no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others and called political violence wrong."
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