CDC Shooting Linked To Suspect's COVID-19 Vaccine Beliefs, Former Staff Blame RFK Jr. Hostility Toward Agency

A group of former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees are blaming HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for vilifying the agency’s workforce through “his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety, which have fueled a climate of hostility and mistrust."

The group, calling themselves Fired But Fighting, told ABC News the shooting was targeted. They’re now urging federal officials to speak out against vaccine misinformation, warning that it endangers scientists.

The comments come just days after a gunman attacked the agency's headquarters in Atlanta. The investigating officials at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the gunman was 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White.

Whtie fired 200 rounds on CDC employees, killing a police officer. He later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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According to two CDC officials, investigators allege the shooter targeted the agency because of his COVID-19 vaccine beliefs.

A search warrant executed at White's home resulted in the recovery of written documents. In the documents, White expressed beliefs indicating his discontent with the COVID-19 vaccine.

A neighbor of White’s previously told NBC News that White had expressed anti-vaccine sentiments to her on multiple occasions. White blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal.

Fired But Fighting isn’t the only group scrutinizing Kennedy Jr. In July, an alliance of medical and public health organizations filed a lawsuit against him, contending that the newly-appointed HHS Secretary has launched an “assault on science, public health, and evidence-based medicine” through unilateral and arbitrary changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant individuals.

According to a recent media report, the FDA told Pfizer it may not renew the emergency use authorization for its pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for the 2025 respiratory season.

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that 22 vaccine development projects totaling $500 million would be canceled.

In a statement, Kennedy announced the termination of mRNA-based vaccine contracts to combat respiratory viruses such as COVID-19, the flu, and H5N1.

Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health, said his reason for canceling the contracts differs from Kennedy Jr.'s explanation last week. Kennedy Jr. claimed vaccines made with this platform were ineffective and unsafe.

Bhattacharya told STAT News the declining uptake of COVID-19 boosters signals that the public isn't willing to be immunized with mRNA-based vaccines.

"As far as public health goes, the mRNA platform for vaccines is no longer viable," Bhattacharya said. "You can't have a platform where such a large fraction of the population distrusts the platform, if you're going to use it for vaccines, and expect it to work." 

Stocks To Watch: Pfizer Inc PFE, BioNTech SE BNTX, Moderna Inc MRNA, Novavax Inc NVAX.

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