WASHINGTON, DC — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revised its public guidance on vaccines and autism, adding language that suggests scientists have not ruled out the possibility of a link — a major reversal from decades of established public health messaging. The update aligns with positions repeatedly promoted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long questioned vaccine safety despite extensive scientific consensus finding no connection.
The CDC page, updated Wednesday, now states that claims vaccines do not cause autism “are not evidence-based” because studies have not eliminated every possible link. The revised page also asserts that research supporting a connection has been “ignored by health authorities.” For years, the agency explicitly stated that vaccines do not cause autism, reflecting findings from numerous large-scale studies.
According to the Washington Post, CDC career scientists were not informed about the change and were caught off guard. The revision comes months after HHS announced a contract with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to research potential vaccine–autism links.
HHS communications director Andrew Nixon defended the update as reflecting “gold standard, evidence-based science,” without addressing who directed the change. The CDC webpage still displays a heading reading “Vaccines do not cause autism,” accompanied by an asterisk tied to an agreement between Kennedy and Senate HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy to preserve existing vaccine guidance during Kennedy’s confirmation.
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