US CDC tightens safety measures after gunman kills officer in Atlanta
The U.S. CDC has tightened security following an attack Friday on its Atlanta headquarters that left a police officer and the gunman dead, including having employees work from home on Monday and removing vehicle decals showing where they work.
The union representing workers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the violence "compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured," citing reports that the gunman blamed the Covid-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal.
Since being named Health and Human Services Secretary earlier this year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has targeted vaccine policy, and in May withdrew a federal recommendation for Covid shots for pregnant women and healthy children.
Kennedy will visit the CDC campus in Atlanta on Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans.
"No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others," Kennedy Jr. said in a post on X on Saturday.
A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that 189 rounds of gunfire had hit the CDC buildings during the attack, 85 windows were broken and over 100 doors destroyed, among other damage.
The Atlanta Police Department referred calls to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which did not have an immediate comment.
Both local and federal law enforcement are "conducting intensive monitoring of all potential threats to CDC and its staff," the agency's acting Chief Operating Officer Christa Capozzola said in an email to staff over the weekend that was seen by Reuters.
She said work was under way to clean up and repair extensive damage to the CDC's campus by the shooter who, according to the investigation so far, acted alone.
An "all-staff" meeting on Tuesday will become a virtual-only event, CDC Director Susan Monarez said in a separate email to employees seen by Reuters. She said teams were working hard to determine "our workplace posture" moving forward.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
Missouri reports rare Naegleria fowleri brain-eating amoeba infection possibly linked to water skiing
Missouri health officials confirmed a rare Naegleria fowleri brain-eating amoeba infection in a patient who recently visited the Lake of the Ozarks. The patient is hospitalized in intensive care. Officials are investigating the source, with possible exposure linked to water skiing or other freshwater recreational activities Missouri health officials are investigating a rare Naegleria fowleri brain-eating amoeba infection possibly linked to water skiing at the Lake of the Ozarks Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads A Missouri resident has been hospitalized with a confirmed Naegleria fowleri brain-eating amoeba infection, possibly contracted after water skiing in the Lake of the Ozarks , the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Wednesday, August patient, whose identity has not been released, is receiving treatment in an intensive care unit. Health officials said the illness developed days after the patient visited the lake. The source of exposure is still under read: Deadly brain-eating amoeba kills Texas woman: how to be safe? The Lake of the Ozarks State Park has two public beaches, according to its website, though officials did not specify which location the patient visited. Naegleria fowleri is a microscopic amoeba found in warm freshwater. The infection it causes, primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), is rare but severe. The organism can enter the brain when water is forced up the nose during activities such as swimming, diving, or water skiing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).From 1962 to 2024, there have been 167 reported PAM cases in the United States, the Missouri health department month, 12-year-old Jaysen Carr of South Carolina died after contracting the amoeba. It was the state's first known case since 2016, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health. His family has spoken publicly, urging awareness to prevent similar CDC advises precautions to reduce risk, including wearing a nose clip or holding the nose shut when jumping or diving into freshwater and keeping the head above water in hot springs. Early symptoms of infection can include nausea, vomiting, fever, severe headache, stiff neck, seizures, altered mental status, and CDC notes that Naegleria fowleri infections cannot be contracted from swallowing contaminated water or through person-to-person transmission.
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
SC order not a quick fix, ineffective ABCs, lack of data worsen crisis
CHENNAI: The keenness expressed by Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru on Tuesday to implement the Supreme Court's order to remove stray dogs from the streets appeared to be an indication of a quick fix after failing to effectively implement the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for over two decades. Activists point out that, despite spending tens of crores every year, the stray population remained much higher than official estimates. To start with, there is no reliable state-wide data on the stray population. According to the nation-wide Livestock Census done in 2019, TN had 4.41 lakh stray dogs. Of the 25 municipal corporations, only four have completed surveys in the last two years. Tambaram recently undertook a survey, estimating around 45,000 dogs. The data from four corporations (Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode and Vellore) show that they together have roughly 3.3 lakh dogs, which is nearly 75% of the state-wide population in 2019, indicating the rapid growth the state seems to have witnessed, particularly during and post-Covid. As per this data, Chennai has 1.8 lakh strays, but the actual numbers could be 2.2-2.3 lakh, sources said. Of the strays in these four corporations, only a meagre 19.8% have undergone ABC procedure. Local bodies should ideally target sterilising 70%-80% of the dogs in a ward in a city over a period of 5-10 years. A meagre 20% coverage would leave the remaining to reproduce at an average of 4-6 pups per litter. Shravan Krishnan, director of Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary, said instead of trying to implement the unviable suggestion of the SC, local body officials who failed to properly implement ABC should be pulled up. The worsening of the problem is evident from the rise in dog-bite cases as well. According to Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme data, cases rose from 3.6 lakh in 2022 to 4.8 lakh in 2024 in TN.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Missouri reports rare Naegleria fowleri brain-eating amoeba infection possibly linked to water skiing
A Missouri resident has been hospitalized with a confirmed Naegleria fowleri brain-eating amoeba infection, possibly contracted after water skiing in the Lake of the Ozarks , the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Wednesday, August 13. The patient, whose identity has not been released, is receiving treatment in an intensive care unit. Health officials said the illness developed days after the patient visited the lake. The source of exposure is still under investigation. Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 4 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 3 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals By Vaibhav Sisinity View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 2 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass Batch-1 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Also read: Deadly brain-eating amoeba kills Texas woman: how to be safe? The Lake of the Ozarks State Park has two public beaches, according to its website, though officials did not specify which location the patient visited. Naegleria fowleri is a microscopic amoeba found in warm freshwater. The infection it causes, primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), is rare but severe. The organism can enter the brain when water is forced up the nose during activities such as swimming, diving, or water skiing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From 1962 to 2024, there have been 167 reported PAM cases in the United States, the Missouri health department said. Live Events Last month, 12-year-old Jaysen Carr of South Carolina died after contracting the amoeba. It was the state's first known case since 2016, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health. His family has spoken publicly, urging awareness to prevent similar cases. The CDC advises precautions to reduce risk, including wearing a nose clip or holding the nose shut when jumping or diving into freshwater and keeping the head above water in hot springs. Early symptoms of infection can include nausea, vomiting, fever, severe headache, stiff neck, seizures, altered mental status, and hallucinations. The CDC notes that Naegleria fowleri infections cannot be contracted from swallowing contaminated water or through person-to-person transmission.
