1/ After the shooting at CDC earlier this month, employees sent a blunt letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

They said that instead of standing with them, RFK Jr. is spreading conspiracy theories about the CDC & their work.

on @CBSEveningNews with @jdickerson
2/ They called this dangerous & made 3 requests:
🔹Stop spreading inaccurate health info
🔹Affirm CDC’s scientific integrity
🔹Guarantee safety of the HHS workforce

savehhs.org/letter/hhs-sta…
3/ Since the shooting, CDC staff say they’ve been harassed with phone calls.

Callers mockingly ask, “Are you resilient?” before playing gunfire sounds, echoing CDC’s own post-shooting messaging.
4/ And today, some of the very people working on gun violence & injury prevention were among those fired.

The timing has shaken many inside the agency.
5/ Security also confirmed the shooter tried to enter CDC’s visitor center two days before the attack, possibly scouting the site—just one day after Sec. Kennedy revoked mRNA vaccine funding.

nytimes.com/2025/08/18/opi…
6/ I’ve spoken with staff who were let go.

One former employee told me: “I started as a college intern & spent nearly 26 years here. This work was my heart & my purpose, and having it stripped away hurts deeply.”
7/ Another said: “We’re not just lazy federal bureaucrats. We’ve poured our hearts & souls into this work, showing up day after day, weekend after weekend, to keep people safe.”
8/ Many described the process as “alienating, lonely, without regard, without humanity—traumatizing.”

These aren’t just job losses.

They’re lives of service suddenly cut off.
9/ The fear isn’t just personal.

Former staff worry that progress on urgent public health issues will be lost.

Issues that families face every day.
10/ Some worked on preventing concussions in kids’ sports.🏈

Others built programs to stop deadly falls in older adults.🧓
11/ Teams focused on drowning🌊🏊 prevention, firearm 🔫 death tracking, & protecting children from violence.
12/ On the global front, some of those laid off were working to stop mothers from passing HIV to their babies & to safeguard maternal & child health. 🌍👶

• • •

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More from @celinegounder

Aug 20
1/ For the first time in decades, US pediatricians have released their own vaccine schedule, separate from the CDC.

Why? Because they no longer trust the government’s process.

Here’s what parents need to know. 🧵
on @CBSEveningNews with @jdickerson
2/ Earlier this year, the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee was overhauled.

All 17 experts were dismissed & replaced with just 7 appointees—several with a history of spreading vaccine misinformation or skepticism.
3/ The Vaccine Integrity Project was established to fill the void & brings together many of top vaccine experts.

Today, the Vaccine Integrity Project reviewed the most up-to-date science on the safety & effectiveness of flu, RSV & COVID vaccines.
Read 15 tweets
Aug 8
1/ New CDC data show just how much ultra-processed foods dominate U.S. diets.

Americans get ~55% of daily calories from UPFs.

Almost 2/3 of what kids & teens eat is ultra-processed.

on @CBSEveningNews with @TheKellyOGrady
2/ The biggest sources?

Sandwiches, sweet bakery goods, packaged snacks, & sugary drinks. 🥪🍩🥤
3/ So why does this matter?

Because a major new U.K. clinical trial—the largest & longest yet—found that even “improved” UPFs can’t match the benefits of minimally processed meals. 🍎🥗
Read 14 tweets
Jul 29
1/@DeionSanders’ bladder cancer diagnosis was caught by chance, during a CT scan for an unrelated issue.

with @nateburleson @vladduthiersCBS @AdrianaDiaz on @CBSMornings
2/ Most bladder cancers are found when people notice blood🩸 in their urine, the hallmark symptom.

But early cancers can be silent, as in Sanders’ case.
3/ His scans, done for blood clots, ended up saving his life.

Even though his cancer was high-grade, it hadn’t invaded the bladder muscle.

That allowed surgeons to remove his bladder & cure him.
Read 18 tweets
Jun 1
1/ FDA Commissioner Makary joined @CBSNews' @margbrennan on @FaceTheNation this morning: cbsnews.com/video/fda-comm…

Full transcript here:
cbsnews.com/news/marty-mak… Image
2/ Brennan: "...you with the HHS Secretary in this video announcement on Tuesday where Secretary Kennedy said the CDC was removing the COVID vaccine for healthy children & healthy pregnant women from its recommended immunization schedule"
3/ She's referring to this social media post:
Read 34 tweets
May 31
1/ Trump Administration's MAHA report is being called out for fabricated citations, AI-generated errors & misattributed authorship.

on @CBSNews with @Alexander_Tin & @MajorGarrett6cbsnews.com/video/white-ho…Image
2/ What makes this especially troubling is the report’s claim to be “evidence-based” & “gold-standard.”

Misrepresenting science while claiming to elevate it is not transparency—it’s Orwellian double-speak for sloppy, dangerous pseudo-science.
3/ At first glance, the report warns of serious issues: screen time, mental health, overmedication in children.

Important topics, yes, but the foundation of the report is now in doubt because many of the studies it cites simply aren’t real.
Read 17 tweets
May 27
1/ Very concerning news from HHS today:
CDC is no longer recommending the COVID vaccine for healthy children & healthy pregnant women.

Why does this have me worried?
2/ Healthy infants may not die from COVID, but they’re at higher risk for ER visits and hospitalizations… both scary & costly.
3/ Pregnant women ARE at higher risk for severe COVID (& influenza).

Pregnancy is a period of immunosuppression (so that the woman’s immune system doesn’t reject the fetus as a foreign body) & stress on the lungs & heart.
Read 9 tweets

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