NEW YORK (FlashPoint) — The recent revision on the CDC’s vaccine safety webpage asserting that the long-held assertion 'vaccines do not cause autism' is no longer an evidence-based claim has incited strong reactions from public health experts and advocates who focus on autism.
The updated content was published Thursday, sparking a wave of criticism from scientists, health professionals, and organizations such as the Autism Science Foundation, which condemned the change as misleading and propagating anti-vaccine misinformation.
Decades of research have concluded that there is no connection between vaccines and autism—an assertion reiterated by Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who called the change unambiguous misinformation.
The revision has raised alarm, especially since it appears to align with anti-vaccine sentiments long pushed by activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Many within the CDC reportedly were caught off guard by the sudden shift in the messaging.
According to Dr. Debra Houry, a former CDC official, the abrupt alteration worries those who rely on facts for health guidance, noting, When scientists are excluded from scientific evaluations, it leads to flawed information.
Despite the change, a note on the webpage continues to state, 'Vaccines do not cause autism,' albeit tagged with an asterisk indicating ongoing negotiations over how this information is presented.
This change under the current administration raises troubling questions about transparency in health communication and the hunting of scientifically-back declarations that strive to maintain public trust in vaccination programs.
