Latest news with #COVIDvaccines
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Gunman who attacked CDC aimed to send message against COVID-19 vaccine
A man who opened fire at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) apparently wanted to send a message against the COVID vaccines, according to authorities in the United States. The update on Tuesday came just days after Patrick Joseph White, 30, attacked the government health facility in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 8. Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said that documents found at White's home 'expressed the shooter's discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations' and that he wanted to make 'the public aware of his discontent with the vaccine'. Hosey added that White had recently expressed thoughts of suicide, with a neighbour telling local media he had claimed his depression was connected to the vaccine. According to investigators, White died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the day of the attack. He fired more than 180 shots with a long gun, fatally shooting a police officer at the scene. Since the shooting, critics have slammed President Donald Trump and his allies for creating an environment that fuels vaccine scepticism and misinformation. 'This tragedy was not random and it compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured,' a union representing CDC employees, AFGE Local 2883, said in a statement on Monday. It called on the administration to take a 'clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation'. 'Their leadership is critical in reinforcing public trust and ensuring that accurate, science-based information prevails,' the union said. A track record of misinformation Trump was in the final full year of his first term in 2020, when COVID-19 started to spread in the US. More than 1.2 million Americans died as a result of the pandemic. But a study from Cornell University in 2021 found that nearly 38 percent of the 'misinformation conversation' surrounding COVID-19 involved Trump. At the time, one of the study's authors told The New York Times that the president was the 'single largest driver of misinformation' about COVID-19. Trump repeatedly promoted unproven treatments like hydroxychloroquine as alternatives to vaccination during the pandemic. He also downplayed the pandemic's risks, saying in February 2020: 'I think it's going to work out fine.' Since January, in the opening months of his second term, critics have accused Trump of continuing to sow doubt in vaccination and medical research. They point to his nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent vaccine sceptic, as leader of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CDC. Recently, Kennedy cancelled hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for research into mRNA vaccines, a medical breakthrough credited with helping to end the COVID pandemic. Experts say the funding cut will hamper the development of an emerging technology that could be used to combat other pathogens. But Kennedy suggested the vaccines 'fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu', a claim not supported by research. 'A climate of hostility' On Monday, Kennedy visited the CDC in Atlanta as well as the DeKalb County Police Department. He later met privately the wife of the police officer killed in the attack, 33-year-old David Rose. 'No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,' Kennedy said in a statement Saturday, adding that federal health officials are 'actively supporting CDC staff'. Investigators said they had recovered five firearms related to the attack, with more than 500 shell casings recovered from the crime scene. The shooting broke about 150 windows across the CDC campus, with bullets piercing 'blast-resistant' windows as workers remained pinned inside. Fired But Fighting, a group of laid-off CDC employees, said Kennedy was responsible for villainising the CDC's workforce through 'his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety, which have fueled a climate of hostility and mistrust'. 'We don't need thoughts and prayers,' the group wrote on its website. 'We need an administration that does not villainize federal workers who are just trying to do their job. We need a Health and Human Services Secretary who does not promote misinformation about science and vaccines.' It called for Kennedy's resignation, as well as the departure of Russell Vought, an administration official who previously said he wanted federal workers to feel 'trauma' about going to work.
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Gunman who attacked CDC aimed to send message against COVID vaccine: Police
A man who opened fire at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) apparently wanted to send a message against the COVID vaccines, according to authorities in the United States. The update on Tuesday came just days after Patrick Joseph White, 30, attacked the government health facility in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 8. Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said that documents found at White's home 'expressed the shooter's discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations' and that he wanted to make 'the public aware of his discontent with the vaccine'. Hosey added that White had recently expressed thoughts of suicide, with a neighbour telling local media he had claimed his depression was connected to the vaccine. According to investigators, White died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the day of the attack. He fired more than 180 shots with a long gun, fatally shooting a police officer at the scene. Since the shooting, critics have slammed President Donald Trump and his allies for creating an environment that fuels vaccine scepticism and misinformation. 'This tragedy was not random and it compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured,' a union representing CDC employees, AFGE Local 2883, said in a statement on Monday. It called on the administration to take a 'clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation'. 'Their leadership is critical in reinforcing public trust and ensuring that accurate, science-based information prevails,' the union said. A track record of misinformation Trump was in the final full year of his first term in 2020, when COVID-19 started to spread in the US. More than 1.2 million Americans died as a result of the pandemic. But a study from Cornell University in 2021 found that nearly 38 percent of the 'misinformation conversation' surrounding COVID-19 involved Trump. At the time, one of the study's authors told The New York Times that the president was the 'single largest driver of misinformation' about COVID-19. Trump repeatedly promoted unproven treatments like hydroxychloroquine as alternatives to vaccination during the pandemic. He also downplayed the pandemic's risks, saying in February 2020: 'I think it's going to work out fine.' Since January, in the opening months of his second term, critics have accused Trump of continuing to sow doubt in vaccination and medical research. They point to his nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent vaccine sceptic, as leader of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CDC. Recently, Kennedy cancelled hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for research into mRNA vaccines, a medical breakthrough credited with helping to end the COVID pandemic. Experts say the funding cut will hamper the development of an emerging technology that could be used to combat other pathogens. But Kennedy suggested the vaccines 'fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu', a claim not supported by research. 'A climate of hostility' On Monday, Kennedy visited the CDC in Atlanta as well as the DeKalb County Police Department. He later met privately the wife of the police officer killed in the attack, 33-year-old David Rose. 'No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,' Kennedy said in a statement Saturday, adding that federal health officials are 'actively supporting CDC staff'. Investigators said they had recovered five firearms related to the attack, with more than 500 shell casings recovered from the crime scene. The shooting broke about 150 windows across the CDC campus, with bullets piercing 'blast-resistant' windows as workers remained pinned inside. Fired But Fighting, a group of laid-off CDC employees, said Kennedy was responsible for villainising the CDC's workforce through 'his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety, which have fueled a climate of hostility and mistrust'. 'We don't need thoughts and prayers,' the group wrote on its website. 'We need an administration that does not villainize federal workers who are just trying to do their job. We need a Health and Human Services Secretary who does not promote misinformation about science and vaccines.' It called for Kennedy's resignation, as well as the departure of Russell Vought, an administration official who previously said he wanted federal workers to feel 'trauma' about going to work.
Medscape
23-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Avoiding the COVID Shot Talk? Here's What to Do
Do you hesitate to bring up COVID vaccines with your patients? You're not alone — and experts said these conversations are becoming less common in routine care. The reasons are complex, ranging from short visit times and shifting clinical priorities to the health attitudes of both physicians and patients — and something Arthur Caplan, PhD, head of the Ethics Division at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, called 'COVID exhaustion.' Arthur Caplan, PhD 'There is a feeling that everybody who's going to get COVID either got it or got vaccinated or doesn't want [the shot],' said Caplan. But your silence can leave patients feeling unsure about what to do. New CDC guidance for COVID boosters — and even baseline vaccination — for healthy people (including children) has shifted toward shared clinical decision-making. What does that mean? According to the now-fired CDC vaccine advisory panel, shared clinical decision-making means 'informed by the best available evidence of who may benefit from vaccination; the individual's characteristics, values, and preferences; the healthcare provider's clinical discretion; and the characteristics of the vaccine being considered.' The panel added, 'There is not a prescribed set of considerations or decision points in the decision-making process.' In other words, you're on your own. All the major US physician organizations still recommend the shots for everyone 6 months and older. Amid widespread misinformation about the vaccines' risks and lack of benefit, there's another reason providers should bring them up — protecting those most at risk for severe COVID, Caplan said. 'We're so individualistic, so focused on personal choice, so focused on the individual, that we're undercutting a moral basis or the ethical basis for vaccination, which is the community,' he said. Surveys consistently showed that more people say they plan to get COVID vaccines than actually do, and the barriers throttling that conversion rate are unclear. If you find yourself hesitating to bring up the COVID vaccine, ask yourself why — so you can thoughtfully address that hesitation in practice. Why You Don't Bring Up COVID Shots With Healthy Patients Timothy Callaghan, PhD First, the elephant in the room: Many people are hesitant to talk about COVID vaccines because of how politically charged the topic has become, and clinicians are no exception. 'Physicians may be hesitant to bring up any topics that might induce partisan beliefs and lead people to be less trusting of seeking out medical care,' said Timothy Callaghan, PhD, associate professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, and an expert in vaccine hesitancy and health behavior. 'They might forego discussing those to make sure they're doing everything they can to keep patients engaged with the healthcare system so that they can keep them safe and healthy.' Jen Brull, MD Another key challenge is the topic's complexity. 'Sometimes those conversations need to be lengthy to let people feel comfortable that their questions were answered, their fears were addressed, the confusion was resolved,' said Jen Brull, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. 'In a 10- or 15-minute office visit, you might say, 'Do I want to open this Pandora's box today? Do I have time to do this? How late am I?'' In the pediatric setting, parents' perception is often that COVID is generally well-tolerated by healthy children, and they view COVID vaccines differently than they do vaccines that are required for school, said Jesse Hackell, MD, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Pediatric Workforce. 'If I've got a kid who needs the measles vaccine and the COVID vaccine, I don't want to poison the atmosphere for the measles vaccine by pushing the COVID vaccine,' Hackell said. Your move? Don't wait for the Pandora's box moment. Start preparing now. Your Vaccine Recommendation Plan You may not be thinking about your fall vaccine campaign yet, but now is the time to plan — before an unexpected surge leaves you unprepared. Jesse Hackell, MD One exception to fall timing is baseline vaccination of 6-month-olds, Hackell said. Data show the risk for severe illness during the first year is high, so these babies should get vaccinated 'as soon as possible.' Otherwise, here are some ways to incorporate COVID vaccine recommendations both in and outside the clinic:
