After unprecedented autism-vaccine messaging change, scientists, advocates say CDC no longer trustworthy
But the CDC’s stunning reversal Wednesday—stating on its
website that “studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines
cause autism”—shows the agency can no longer be trusted, multiple doctors and
public health advocates told CIDRAP News.
Until late yesterday, the CDC webpage accurately stated,
“Studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and
developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). No links have been found
between any vaccine ingredients and ASD.”
Today, the CDC website echoes the views of Health and Human
Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has claimed without
evidence that vaccines cause autism.
The CDC website now states, “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.”
A 'tragic day' for public health
Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved
into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant
theories,” said Paul Offit, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia and co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine. “The CDC is
being weaponized to promote RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine point of view. So why should
you trust it?”
Many public health experts who spoke to CIDRAP News sounded
sorrowful.
“Today is a tragic day for public health, for the US
government,” said Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the University of
Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (publisher of
CIDRAP News). “Ideology has replaced science as the means for addressing
life-saving research and best practices that save lives.”
Many physicians worry that the CDC’s new message will
dissuade parents from vaccinating their children.
“This will cause real harm,” said Jake Scott, MD, an
infectious disease expert and clinical associate professor at the Stanford
University School of Medicine.
“Parents searching for trustworthy information will find
official CDC language that appears to validate concerns that have been
thoroughly debunked. Some will delay or skip vaccines. We know what happens
next—preventable diseases return to communities with low vaccination rates.”
The CDC also removed scientific reviews of vaccines from its
website. The website now rehashes conspiracy theories claiming that government
scientists and the medical community have hidden the truth about vaccines,
claiming, that “studies supporting a link have been ignored by health
authorities.”
We know what happens next—preventable diseases return to communities with low vaccination rates.
Attacking scientists as dishonest and corrupt comes straight
out of the anti-vaccine playbook, said Peter Hotez, MD, codirector of the Texas
Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, who also helped develop an
affordable, unpatented COVID-19 vaccine.
“This is how the wellness influencer industry works,” Hotez
said. “It’s not enough to push the snake oil. You have to discredit mainstream
biomedical science and portray scientists as public enemies or cartoon
villains, and that's what Kennedy’s seeking to do.”
CDC employees became
the target of violence in August after a gunman who blamed
COVID-19 shots for his depression fired 180 shots into the
agency’s Atlanta headquarters, killing a police officer.
Vaccines don’t cause autism
Independent researchers from seven countries have conducted
40 high-quality studies involving 5.6 million people looking at the
relationship between vaccines and autism since 1998.
“The conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There’s no link
between vaccines and autism,” said Susan J. Kressly, MD, president of the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
“Anyone repeating this harmful myth is misinformed or
intentionally trying to mislead parents,” Kressley said. “We call on the CDC to
stop wasting government resources to amplify false claims that sow doubt in one
of the best tools we have to keep children healthy and thriving: routine
immunizations.”
During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy promised Sen. Bill
Cassidy, MD, a Republican from Louisiana, that he would not remove statements
on the CDC website that said vaccines do not cause autism. Cassidy's approval
was critical in confirming Kennedy as HHS secretary.
Anyone repeating this harmful myth is misinformed or
intentionally trying to mislead parents.
Cassidy didn’t respond to an interview request. But he posted about the importance of
vaccines on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I’m a doctor who has seen people die from
vaccine-preventable diseases,” Cassidy wrote. “What parents need to know right
now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases
are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary
is wrong, irresponsible and actively makes Americans sicker.”
The CDC’s rejection of vaccine science undercuts the
credibility of all federal government science, said Ari Ne’eman, PhD, an
assistant professor of health policy and management at the Harvard T.H. Chan
School of Public Health.
“It gives people justifiable cause to be suspicious about
anything that comes out from this administration regarding the science of
autism,” Ne’eman said. “This reinforces this sense that RFK Jr.’s political
judgments are being used in place of the scientific process.”
Debra Houry, MD, the CDC’s former chief medical officer,
said the agency’s scientists had nothing to do with the website change.
“Scientists were not involved in any of these decisions, and
when you remove science from scientific information you get ideology,” said
Houry, who resigned from the CDC in August.
“This is what we have been warning Congress about—and
yesterday on a webinar for health journalists I said I would not trust
information on autism from CDC,” she added.
Meanwhile, allies of Kennedy are cheering the changes.
"This is the biggest health reversal of our lifetime," Children's
Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy, said on X.
Autism community speaks out
The autism community, which has long pushed back against the
idea that vaccines cause autism, also criticized the changes to the CDC
website.
“No environmental factor has been better studied as a
potential cause of autism,” said Alison Singer, MBA, president of the Autism
Science Foundation
“The facts don’t change because the administration does,”
Singer said. “At this point it’s not about doing more studies; it’s about being
willing to accept what the existing study data clearly show. You can’t just
ignore data because it doesn’t confirm your beliefs, but that’s what the
administration is doing.”
Autistic people have been sharply critical of Kennedy for
his demeaning characterizations of people with the condition and description of
the neurodevelopmental condition as a tragedy.
You can’t just ignore data because it doesn’t confirm
your beliefs, but that’s what the administration is doing.
“It isn’t clear what further amount or type of proof or
research would be enough to satisfy Kennedy or the CDC that autism isn’t caused
by vaccines,” said Sam Brandsen, PhD, who has autism and is a part-time
postdoctoral researcher at the University of Alberta in Canada. Brandsen’s son
also has autism.
“Even if vaccines were the cause of autism—which I don't
believe—I would much rather have my child be his wonderful autistic self and
have vaccine protection against deadly diseases than try to withhold necessary
vaccines out of a fear of autistic traits,” Brandsen said.