C.D.C. Updates Website to Acknowledge Kennedy’s Vaccine Skeptic Views

C.D.C. Website Now Mirrors Kennedy’s Vaccine Doubts

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention webpage that once stated plainly that vaccines do not cause autism has been rewritten, softening that position and clashing with the agency’s longtime efforts to counter misinformation about a supposed link.

The updated page on vaccines and autism, revised on Wednesday, now echoes the skepticism voiced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., even though numerous scientific studies over several decades have failed to find any evidence connecting vaccines to autism.

From Clear Reassurance to Qualified Language

In its earlier version, the webpage said that research had shown “no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder,” citing a 2012 National Academy of Medicine review and a 2013 C.D.C. study.

The new text, live on Thursday, instead reads: “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.” It further asserts that health authorities have “ignored” studies that suggest a connection and notes that the Department of Health and Human Services is undertaking a “comprehensive assessment” of the causes of autism.

This framing stands in contrast to the scientific consensus. Over the last 30 years, large-scale studies around the world have repeatedly failed to find any association between vaccines and autism, including a 2019 study in Denmark that examined every child in the country over a ten-year period.

Cassidy Agreement Keeps Original Phrase in Place

Despite the overhaul, the sentence “Vaccines do not cause autism” still appears on the new C.D.C. page. A footnote explains that the statement remains due to an agreement with Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, physician and chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, that the wording not be removed from the agency’s site.

At least one other C.D.C. webpage continues to state clearly that there is no link between vaccines and autism, as does a page on the Food and Drug Administration’s website, which also falls under Mr. Kennedy’s oversight.

Neither Mr. Cassidy’s office nor spokespeople for the C.D.C. and the Department of Health and Human Services immediately responded to requests for comment.

Applause From Activists, Alarm From Experts

The revision was welcomed by anti-vaccine activists. Children’s Health Defense, the organization founded by Mr. Kennedy, celebrated the change on social media, saying the C.D.C. was “finally” starting to recognize what it described as the reality of a condition affecting millions.

Public health professionals reacted very differently. Doctors, epidemiologists and other experts criticized the new language as undermining evidence-based medicine. Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University, wrote on social media that the update showed “political pressure overriding scientific consensus” and called it a “dangerous precedent.”

Covid Vaccine Guidance for Pregnant Women Removed

Amid the controversy, the C.D.C. also removed a webpage that had advised pregnant women about the benefits of receiving Covid-19 vaccines. That page now carries a brief notice saying its content is being updated to align with recent recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

It is not yet clear when the revised guidance for pregnant patients will be posted, leaving a gap in public information even as debates over vaccine safety and messaging grow more intense.