The CDC has altered the wording on one of its webpages to say that vaccines may cause autism.
On its webpage titled ‘autism and vaccines’, the agency has now added a bullet point directly under the headline that reads: ‘The claim “vaccines do not cause autism” is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.’
Another point adds: ‘Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.’
And a third says: ‘HHS has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.’
Updated on Wednesday, the first section of the page is still titled ‘Vaccines do not cause Autism.’
However, there is an asterisk pointing to a note that reads: ‘The header “Vaccines do not cause autism” has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the US Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.’
Previously, the page read: ‘Studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism.’
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Junior is a known vaccine skeptic and has previously suggested that shots may raise a child’s risk of developing autism.
Multiple leading public health experts and agencies have pushed back against claims that vaccines cause autism, saying these have been thoroughly debunked through more than 1,000 scientific studies.
Experts have said the altered page shows what happens when ‘politics hijack public health’ and said the agency could ‘no longer be trusted’. Others warned that the shift raised the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases once again entering society.
On Wednesday, the CDC altered its page on the link between vaccines and autism, shown in red
The page continues: ‘Scientific studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines contribute to the development of autism.
‘However, this statement has historically been disseminated by the CDC and other federal health agencies within HHS to prevent vaccine hesitancy.’
In the section, ‘state of evidence: MMR vaccine’, officials have also added language stating that more studies into the potential link are needed.
It reads: ‘In 2012, the IOM [Institute of Medicine] reviewed the published MMR-autism studies and found that all but four of them had “serious methodological limitations” and the IOM gave them no weight.
‘The remaining four studies and a few similar studies published since have all been criticized for serious methodological flaws.’
Kennedy was appointed to his role at HHS after he gave assurances to lawmakers that he would not undermine public confidence in vaccines or disrupt access to them.
Dr Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases physician formerly at the World Health Organization, wrote on X: ‘The CDC’s vaccine-autism mess isn’t just about bad science and misinformation, it’s about what happens when politics hijack public health.
‘We can’t trust the agency’s guidance, and need WHO’s scientific leadership more than ever.’
Robert F Kennedy Junior, the Health and Human Services Secretary, is a well-known vaccine sceptic. He is pictured above in May this year
The update comes at a time when vaccination rates are falling in the US and concerns are mounting that the country could lose its measles elimination status
Dr Demetre Daskalakis, an infectious disease expert who previously led the agency’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on X: ‘The weaponization of the voice of CDC is getting worse. This is a public health emergency.
‘CDC [autism and vaccines page] has been updated to cause chaos without [a] scientific basis. DO NOT TRUST THIS AGENCY. This is a national embarrassment.’
The updates to the CDC’s page were not accompanied by an announcement from HHS or a statement from the health secretary.
Autism diagnoses have surged in the US, going from one in 150 children in the early 2000s to one in 31 today, according to the latest data available.
The increase has alarmed both politicians and public health officials and the new administration has vowed to get to the bottom of the shift.
Previous research has blamed the rise on a range of factors, including increased awareness, better diagnostic procedures and officials starting to use a more open definition of the condition.
Some recent studies have also suggested a link with exposure to pollution and chemical contamination in food.
There have been claims linking vaccines, particularly the MMR or measles vaccine, to autism. This dates back to a paper published in the 1980s by now discredited British researcher Andrew Wakefield. After review, the study was later revoked and Wakefield’s credentials were removed.
More than 1,000 studies carried out since, according to the federal government’s PubMed resource, have shown no link between jabs and the condition.
Dr Paul Offit, a pediatrician and adviser on the FDA’s vaccines panel, previously told Daily Mail that ‘there are many promising leads’ behind the rise of autism but that ‘vaccines are not one of them’.
He said: ‘The question has been answered again and again and again. [Further CDC research] will do nothing for children with autism and only increase the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.’
American Academy of Pediatrics experts have said online: ‘Some individuals wrongly assert there is a link between vaccines and autism.
‘Before the claim was discredited, researchers took it seriously, investigated it thoroughly, and found no link. This research, in many countries, involving thousands of individuals, has spanned multiple decades.’
It comes amid concerns that the US, like Canada, could be stripped of its measles elimination status in January as public health officials continue to struggle to suppress an outbreak of the disease that started in West Texas and has now been persisting for nearly a year.
Measles is one of the most infectious diseases known to man, but can be prevented using a vaccine. It has started to resurge amid falling vaccine uptake.
At a press conference in September, Kennedy also suggested that taking acetaminophen, the active drug in Tylenol, during pregnancy could cause autism. President Donald Trump urged pregnant women to avoid the medication.
