More than 750 current and former employees of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have sent an open letter to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Congress and the White House, urging him to curb what they describe as misleading statements on vaccines and infectious-disease policy and to bolster protections for federal health workers. The signatories—almost 400 of them current staff—cite the Aug. 8 shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Atlanta headquarters, in which a gunman fired roughly 200 rounds, killing police officer David Rose before taking his own life. Investigators said the attacker harbored grievances over COVID-19 vaccines. The group accuses Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic, of fueling hostility toward public-health personnel by dismissing mRNA vaccines and dismantling advisory bodies. They ask HHS by Sept. 2 to tighten emergency procedures and remove online ‘DEI watchlists’ that expose employee identities, and to publicly affirm the CDC’s evidence-based work. Kennedy has previously said that “no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,” but has not responded to the latest letter.