CDC director tells staff 'misinformation can be dangerous' in agency meeting

The CDC director warned staffers about the dangers of misinformation during an agencywide meeting, the first since last week’s shooting at CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, Susan Monarez, warned staffers about the dangers of misinformation during an agencywide meeting, the first since last week’s shooting at the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta, which left one police officer dead, according to a transcript of her remarks obtained by NBC News.

Monarez conducted Tuesday’s staff meeting virtually, joined by Jim O’Neill, the deputy secretary of health and human services, and Jeff Williams, director of the CDC’s Office of Safety, Security and Asset Management, in an effort to reassure the people who work at the Atlanta campus about their safety. She said the agency has taken steps to bolster security and expand mental health sources for employees.

“Public health should never be under attack,” Monarez said, echoing an earlier social media post from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We know that misinformation can be dangerous,” Monarez told staffers. “Not only to health, but to those that trust us and those we want to trust. We need to rebuild the trust together.”

Monarez said the agency can rebuild that trust with “rational, evidence-based discourse” communicated with ”compassion and understanding.”