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CDC’s plummeting morale

It’s been a difficult time for public health professionals working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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On Aug. 8, a gunman sprayed hundreds of bullets at buildings on the agency’s main campus in Atlanta, killing a responding police officer. A little over a week later, the Trump administration sent permanent termination notices to hundreds of employees.

Agency staff who spoke to The Hill said morale is at rock bottom, and the latest round of layoffs hit especially hard following the revelations that the attacker was motivated by his distrust of COVID-19 vaccines.

“The shooting feels like a violent manifestation of the hatred that we've been subjected to for the last seven months, and then losing many staff right after th

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