The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made a dramatic shift in its official position regarding vaccines and autism, updating its website to acknowledge that the connection has not been definitively disproven.
The federal health agency’s website now contains starkly different language than it has for years.
The new wording states that 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.
The CDC further acknowledged that “studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.”
The agency explained that the statement “vaccines do not cause autism” has been “historically disseminated” by the CDC and other federal health agencies in an effort to prevent vaccine hesitancy.
Before the change, the CDC page had stated that “studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD).”
That definitive assertion has now been replaced with more cautious language.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a “comprehensive assessment” of potential causes of autism, according to the CDC.
This investigation will include examinations of “plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.”
Interestingly, the header “Vaccines do not cause autism” remains on the page. However, it is now followed by an asterisk that indicates it was not removed because of a prior agreement rather than because the evidence supports it.
The Children’s Health Defense organization praised the CDC’s updated web page as a step toward transparency. The group has long questioned the safety of childhood vaccines and their potential connection to autism.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparred with Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) in September over mRNA vaccine safety.
Bennet pressed Kennedy on potential cardiovascular risks tied to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, including myocarditis and pericarditis in teenagers. Kennedy sought clarification on whether he disputed documented associations between these vaccines and reported heart-related side effects, Resist the Mainstream reported.
Also in September, President Donald Trump demanded transparency from pharmaceutical companies over the COVID-19 vaccines developed during Operation Warp Speed. He called on drug manufacturers to release their data on vaccine effectiveness.
“With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW,” he penned on Truth Social.
Around that time, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced the decision to move to remove all vaccine mandates that have been in place for decades, calling existing requirements “wrong” and comparing them to “slavery.”
“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right,” Ladapo said during a press conference in Valrico, Hillsborough County.
Ladapo highlighted that lawmakers will “have to choose a side,” adding a personal note to those declining vaccines: “God bless you.”
