The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made controversial changes to its vaccine safety information, aligning with Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's disputed belief that vaccines may cause autism.
Scientific Consensus Overturned
The CDC's 'vaccine safety' webpage now states that 'The statement "Vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim', directly contradicting decades of scientific research. The altered page, discovered on 16th April 2025, additionally claims that 'Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.'
Public health specialists and autism experts have universally condemned the changes. The revision appears to reflect the personal beliefs of Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was appointed as US health and human services secretary despite widespread scientific opposition to his views on vaccination.
Political Compromise Revealed
The extent of the alteration becomes particularly evident through an asterisk added to the pre-existing statement that 'vaccines do not cause autism'. An explanation at the bottom of the page reveals the statement remained only due to an agreement with Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican medical doctor from Louisiana.
Senator Cassidy initially opposed Kennedy's nomination but ultimately voted to confirm him after receiving assurances that statements denying the vaccine-autism link would remain on the CDC website. The new page notably fails to cite any new research supporting the altered position, instead announcing that HHS has launched 'a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism.'
Scientific Community Backlash
The changes have triggered severe backlash from the medical and scientific communities. Former and current CDC staff revealed that the updated page bypassed the normal scientific clearance process entirely.
'I spoke with several scientists at CDC yesterday and none were aware of this change in content,' said Debra Houry, one of several top CDC officials who resigned in August. She added: 'When scientists are cut out of scientific reviews, then inaccurate and ideologic information results.'
The Autism Science Foundation, which had cautiously welcomed Kennedy's stated mission to investigate autism causes, expressed outrage at the website changes. 'We are appalled to find that the content on the CDC webpage has been changed and distorted, and is now filled with anti-vaccine rhetoric and outright lies about vaccines and autism,' the foundation stated.
Dr Daniel Jernigan, another official who resigned from the agency in August, offered a stark assessment: Kennedy appears to be 'going from evidence-based decision making to decision-based evidence making.'
The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a strong statement through its president, Dr Susan Kressly, calling on the CDC to 'stop wasting government resources to amplify false claims that sow doubt in one of the best tools we have to keep children healthy and thriving: routine immunizations.'
The controversy represents the latest example of Kennedy's determination to impose his beliefs across the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC. Multiple former CDC officials now say that information posted by the agency on vaccine safety can no longer be trusted.
