Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientists, former staff, and community activists staged a symbolic “die?in” on June 18 outside the agency’s Clifton campus in Atlanta. The protest responds to widespread layoffs and budget cuts enacted this spring by the Trump–Kennedy administration—action organizers say have hollowed out vital public health infrastructure.

Reported on by Fox News and others, participants held signs, while lying motionless on sidewalks, even drumming weekly since early June. Participants warn that such reductions imperil the CDC’s ability to track disease outbreaks, monitor chronic issues like HIV and lead poisoning, and provide emergency response .