Opinion: I was in my office when bullets hit the CDC. A year later, the agency remains under attack
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- The gunman fired roughly 500 rounds at CDC headquarters on August 8, 2025, with about 180 striking or passing through CDC windows and walls; DeKalb County Officer David Rose, 33, a former Marine and father of three, was killed defending the campus.
- The White House never publicly addressed the attack on its own public health agency, according to the author's firsthand account.
- Daniel B. Jernigan, M.D., M.P.H., former director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and other CDC leaders resigned days after the shooting; Jernigan had served 31 years at the agency.
- CDC has lost around 25% of its workforce to firings, retirements, and departures, and faces proposed presidential budget cuts of 40% for 2027, though Congress determines final enacted levels.
- A Senate-confirmed CDC director was fired for refusing to approve vaccine recommendations not grounded in evidence, and the vaccine advisory process has been reshaped outside normal channels of evidence review.
- Public trust in CDC guidance dropped in 2026, with fewer than half (47%) of the public saying they have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in the agency to provide reliable vaccine information.
Why it matters: CDC has lost a quarter of its workforce and faces a proposed 40% budget cut, while its vaccine advisory process has been moved outside normal evidence review — meaning the agency charged with detecting outbreaks is entering its second post-shooting year with materially fewer staff, diminished public trust at 47%, and a leadership structure reshaped by political pressure rather than scientific independence.
