"Kennedy is directly responsible for the villainization of CDC's workforce through his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety, which have fueled a climate of hostility and mistrust," one ex-employee wrote, according to the Associated Press news agency.

The shooting in Atlanta, which killed a police officer, followed the spread of false information around Covid vaccines and animosity directed at the agency, public health workers say.

The 30-year-old shooter also tried to get into the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta but was stopped by guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street and opening fire late Friday afternoon, the official said.

(Corrects paragraph 4 to show Endpoints News first reported the move, not Stat News)

Dr. Vinay Prasad is back at the FDA less than two weeks after the White House pressed the head of the agency to remove him from his multiple agency leadership roles, an HHS spokesperson said Saturday.

Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s top vaccine and gene therapy regulator, was the target of a right-wing pressure campaign over his handling of drug approvals and past support for Democrats.