A change to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine guidance is drawing backlash across the medical community after language that long asserted vaccines do not cause autism was downgraded on the agency’s website.
The CDC page — updated Nov. 19 — now states that the claim “vaccines do not cause autism” is “not an evidence-based claim,” adding that some specific vaccine combinations given in infancy have not been the focus of large epidemiological studies.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told The New York Times he directed the change. Kennedy acknowledged that major studies have found no link between autism and vaccines, but argued that broader vaccine safety questions remain unanswered.
“The whole thing about ‘vaccines have been tested and there’s been this determination made,’ is just a lie,” he said, adding: “The phrase ‘Vaccines do not cause autism’ is not supported by science.”
Kennedy said he isn’t asserting vaccines cause autism, but insisted public health officials cannot definitively say they don’t.
The edit is highly unusual, former CDC leaders say, noting scientific guidance is normally initiated by agency researchers — not ordered by a Cabinet secretary.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. — a physician who voted to confirm Kennedy — wrote on X that vaccines for childhood diseases “are safe and effective and will not cause autism,” calling any suggestion otherwise “wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst told Fox News digital, “Vaccine confidence is eroding despite the fact that the vast majority of our vaccines have been around a long time and are crucial tools in the fight against vaccine-preventable disease and deaths from associated pathogens.”
Former CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen warned the altered messaging could erode trust and “risks endangering children by driving down vaccination rates and leaving kids vulnerable,” according to CBS News.
“There is overwhelming evidence that vaccines do not cause autism but do save lives,” she said.