The CDC Shooting is a Dark Sign for Science and America

I’ve walked the halls of both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Emory University—places filled with some of the most dedicated and brilliant minds in public health and medicine. I trained there, worked there, and counted many of the people inside as friends and colleagues. On Friday, those same halls were turned into a crime scene. A shooting targeted institutions whose mission is to prevent illness, save lives, and advance knowledge. It should shake every one of us that such places were attacked at all. I wish I could say this came out of nowhere, but it didn’t. During the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, I saw the public health response politicized in ways that undermined the very people risking their lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the politicization of science reached unprecedented levels—permeating the highest echelons of government. Read More: Here’s Everything We Know About the CDC Atlanta Shooting In instances such as these, framing a respect or disdain for science as a political view doesn’t just undermine scientists and public health leaders; it sows fear and doubt among people who may not have the background to interpret complex scientific evidence. It handed a megaphone to groups that spread misinformation while actively dismantling decades of global health progress. These attacks haven’t been limited to public health guidance. They have extended to tearing down valuable collaborations and institutions—such as, USAID, GAVI, and others—that have spent years building trust, delivering lifesaving interventions, and fostering global cooperation. The erosion of these systems threatens not only our ability to respond to the next crisis but also the fragile relief they offered to already scared health workers who, in the darkest days of COVID-19, continued caring for patients despite immense personal risk. It is easy to forget how dark 2020 was—ICUs overflowing, patients dying by the thousands. Vaccines didn’t just offer hope; they saved lives and reduced suffering. They also gave exhausted and frightened health workers some measure of comfort that they had another tool to protect themselves and their patients. But respectful debate has given way to vitriol, amplified by leaders who use division as a political tool. I’ve experienced it firsthand—harassment, threats—simply for doing my job and providing evidence-based scientific information. The shooting in Atlanta on Friday, Aug. 8 2025, was more than an act of violence. It was a warning. Violence against public health workers is violence against the systems that protect us. Undermine those systems, and cases of vaccine-preventable diseases will return. As a result, outbreaks will be more likely to quickly spread and we won’t have the tools to effectively mitigate these risks. Silence science, and people will die—not just from bullets, but from the diseases we could have stopped. Read More: History Warns us About the Dangers of Trump’s Brain Drain We cannot look away and we cannot treat this as just another tragedy in the news cycle. We must demand that our leaders protect those who protect us, rebuild trust in science rather than sow the seeds of disbelief, and reject the politics of division. We must safeguard the institutions and partnerships that have been painstakingly built over decades. If our elected officials are unwilling or refuse to do this, then it is incumbent on each and every one of us to take action. This means voting for leaders who prioritize evidence-based policies, speaking out when misinformation and disinformation spreads, supporting local and global public health initiatives, and standing with health workers who put themselves at risk to keep us safe. It means refusing to normalize attacks on scientists and science.  Because if we fail to act now, Friday will not be the last dark day for science—or for America.