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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has modified a webpage on its website, introducing language that questions the established scientific conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism. The updated page now asserts that the claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based statement because existing studies have not definitively ruled out the possibility of a causal link for all infant vaccines.
This revision marks a significant departure from the long-standing position of the CDC and major global health organizations. For years, the agency has maintained that numerous large-scale studies have consistently found no connection between childhood vaccinations and the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In fact, other pages on the CDC's own website continue to state that scientific studies show no link between vaccines and ASD and that no vaccine ingredients have been found to be associated with the condition.
The change was reportedly implemented following a directive from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal critic of vaccine safety who has long promoted the disproven theory of a link. According to reports, Kennedy personally instructed the federal health agency to make the change, citing the Data Quality Act (DQA) as justification. The DQA requires federal agencies to ensure the integrity and objectivity of the information they disseminate.
The updated text states that HHS is launching a new, comprehensive assessment to investigate plausible biological mechanisms and potential links between vaccines and autism. This move has been met with alarm from many in the medical and scientific communities, who fear it will sow public confusion and fuel vaccine hesitancy. The update to the CDC's official guidance reverses a position built on a robust body of evidence, including reviews by the National Academy of Medicine, which have consistently debunked the connection first alleged in a fraudulent and retracted 1998 study.
