I have spent time in the facilities of both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Emory University—locations housing some of the most committed and brilliant minds in public health and medicine. I underwent training there, worked there, and considered many of the individuals within those walls as friends and professional associates.
This past Friday, those very same premises were transformed into a crime scene. Individuals targeted institutions whose core mission is to prevent illness, preserve lives, and advance knowledge. It should deeply concern each one of us that such vital places came under attack.
While I wish I could claim this incident was unforeseen, it was not. During the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, I observed the public health response being politicized in ways that undermined the very individuals risking their lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the politicization of science escalated to unparalleled levels, infiltrating all facets of government.
In such cases, framing respect or disdain for science as a political viewpoint not only weakens scientists and public health leaders; it fosters fear and uncertainty among people who may lack the necessary background to interpret complex scientific evidence. This approach provided a platform for groups to spread misinformation while actively dismantling decades of global health progress.
These assaults have not been limited to public health guidance. They have extended to dismantling valuable collaborations and institutions—such as Doctors Without Borders, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and others—which have invested years in building trust, delivering life-saving interventions, and fostering global cooperation. The deterioration of these systems jeopardizes not only our capacity to respond to the next crisis but also the delicate relief they offered to already fearful health workers who, during the most challenging periods of COVID-19, continued caring for patients despite immense personal hazards.
It is easy to forget the scenes—ICUs overflowing, patients dying by the thousands. Vaccines did not merely offer hope; they saved lives and alleviated suffering. They also provided a degree of solace to exhausted and frightened health workers, offering them another tool to protect themselves and their patients. However, respectful discourse has been replaced by hostility, amplified by leaders who exploit division for political ends. I have personally experienced it—harassment, threats—simply for performing my duties and providing evidence-based scientific information.
The shooting in Atlanta on Friday, August 8, 2025, was more than just an act of violence. It served as a warning. Violence directed at public health workers is violence against the very systems designed to protect us. If those systems are weakened, cases of vaccine-preventable diseases will re-emerge. Consequently, outbreaks will be more likely to spread rapidly, and we will lack the necessary tools to effectively mitigate these risks. Suppress science, and people will perish—not only from bullets, but from diseases we could have prevented.
We cannot turn a blind eye, nor can we treat this as just another tragedy in the news cycle. We must demand that our leaders protect those who safeguard us, rebuild trust in science instead of sowing seeds of disbelief, and reject the politics of division. We must preserve the institutions and partnerships that have been meticulously built over many decades.
Should our elected officials be unwilling or refuse to act, then it becomes the responsibility of each and every one of us to take action. This entails voting for leaders who prioritize policies based on evidence, speaking out when misinformation and disinformation proliferate, supporting local and global public health initiatives, and standing in solidarity with health workers who put themselves at risk to ensure our safety. It means refusing to accept attacks on scientists and science as normal.
Because if we fail to act now, Friday will not be the final somber day for science—or for America.
