The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made a dramatic about-face in the agency's position on the relationship between vaccines and autism.
The CDC's website now says a link between vaccines and autism cannot be ruled out. That's a reversal from the CDC's longstanding stance that there is no link.
The change comes even though a connection between vaccines and autism has long been debunked by a large body of high-quality research. But Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long promoted the discredited claim.
The CDC's change is alarming public health experts. They are already worried about a drop in childhood vaccination, which has led to a resurgence of dangerous childhood diseases like measles and whooping cough.
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to promote false information suggesting vaccines cause autism," said Dr. Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in a statement. "Since 1998, independent researchers across seven countries have conducted more than 40 high-quality studies involving over 5.6 million people. The conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There's no link between vaccines and autism."
She went on to say, "Anyone repeating this harmful myth is misinformed or intentionally trying to mislead parents. 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...
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