Autism and Vaccines: CDC Goes Full Anti-Science
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed its webpage on “Autism and Vaccines” to make false claims about a connection, even though there is no scientific evidence to support a link.
The webpage 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” and “studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.”
Before the update, the CDC webpage correctly stated that “studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD)” and “no links have been found between any vaccine ingredients and ASD.”
Bizarrely, the updated webpage also includes a header, “Vaccines do not cause Autism*.” To quote the asterisk:
“The header ‘Vaccines do not cause autism’ has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.”
“By replacing factual information about autism and vaccines on the CDC website with false claims that echo the views of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC has gone full anti-science,” said Dr. Robert Steinbrook, Health Research Director for Public Citizen.
“The agency continues to shred its credibility as a source of scientific information that the American people can trust. It continues to gratuitously undermine confidence in safe and effective vaccines that have stood the test of time.
“Congress, medical professional organizations, and the public must uniformly denounce this cynical and dangerous manipulation of accurate federal health information.”