Under RFK Jr.’s Watch, CDC to Conduct Vaccine-Autism Study Despite Decades of Scientific Consensus
Federal officials announced on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will conduct a large-scale study to investigate the connection between vaccines and autism despite decades of research and hundreds of studies showing no link.
The CDC is overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is known for his anti-vaccine sentiments, including his criticism of the COVID-19 vaccine and claims that childhood immunizations cause autism.
A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson, Andrew Nixon, addressed the agency’s intentions in a statement but did not provide specifics regarding the study’s scope or methodology.
“As President Trump said in his Joint Address to Congress, the rate of autism in American children has skyrocketed. CDC will leave no stone unturned in its mission to figure out what exactly is happening. The American people expect high-quality research and transparency and that is what CDC is delivering.”
There has been a notable increase in the number of autism diagnoses across the United States. Recent data collected by the CDC from 11 states indicates that approximately 1 in 36 children are diagnosed, a significant increase from the 1 in 150 reported in 2000.
Experts point to greater awareness of the disorder and shifts in its classification by medical professionals as the primary reasons driving the recent surge. However, some scientists suggest additional factors, both genetic and environmental, may also be contributing.
The CDC is moving forward with its study despite opposition from the chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Senator Bill Cassidy. Cassidy is a Louisiana Republican and former doctor known for his strong vaccine advocacy.
During the confirmation hearing for Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Trump’s choice to lead the National Institutes of Health, Cassidy said that more research into a possible link between vaccines and autism would be a waste of funds and would take attention away from other investigations that could find the “true reason” why the number of autism cases is rising.
“It’s been exhaustively studied. The more we pretend like this is an issue, the more we will have children dying from vaccine-preventable diseases.”
Dr. Bhattacharya, however, believes there is no link between vaccines and autism based on the current research but wants to calm anxious parents with additional studies.
The proposed CDC research comes amid a quickly growing measles outbreak in West Texas that has infected nearly 200 individuals and killed two. According to Texas health officials, 80 infected were unvaccinated, while 113 had “unknown vaccination status.”
Last year, approximately 82 percent of the kindergarten population in the county most impacted by the outbreak had gotten the measles vaccination. Since measles is extremely contagious, preventing its spread relies on 95% of a community being vaccinated.
In response to an interview question about the CDC’s intentions, Xavier Becerra, health secretary to former President Biden, said, “All I’ll say is that CDC can do many things. They can walk and chew gum, but I would hope CDC is being used to help us get a grip on measles before another life needlessly dies, perishes.”
Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told The New York Times in an email that the CDC’s recent decision could potentially divert essential resources from learning more about the disorder.
“There are so many promising leads for the cause or causes of autism. Vaccines aren’t one of them. Given that there are limited resources from the CDC, this is a sad day for children with autism.”
Like Kennedy, President Trump has pushed the thought that vaccines may be linked to rising cases of autism. He first talked about this idea in 2007 and brought it up again during his 2015 presidential bid. Recently, he expressed his willingness to support Kennedy in his initiatives, and in his speech to Congress on Tuesday, he talked about the rising number of autism diagnoses.
“We’re going to find out what it is, and there’s nobody better than Bobby and all of the people that are working with you. Bobby, good luck. It’s a very important job.”
Kennedy secured Senate confirmation as health secretary with a razor-thin margin. On the second day of the confirmation hearings, Senator Cassidy voiced significant concerns regarding Kennedy’s previous inquiries into vaccines, referencing a study involving 1.2 million children, which concluded that there was no link between vaccines and autism.
Kennedy refuted the study by citing a “new” study that “showed the opposite.” A review by The New York Times of the study revealed that it was funded, written, and released by a group of vaccine skeptics affiliated with Kennedy. After facing rejection from multiple mainstream medical journals, the study was published in a journal run by vaccine critics with the help of Andrew Wakefield, the author of a discredited 1998 study that connected vaccines to autism and played a significant role in fueling the modern anti-vaccine movement.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.