Overview
- The CDC’s updated page now asserts that the statement “vaccines do not cause autism” is not evidence-based, says studies have not excluded a causal role in infants, and alleges supportive studies were ignored.
- Decades of research finding no causal link between routine childhood vaccines and autism are cited by medical and autism organizations, which denounced the new wording as misinformation.
- CDC scientists told the Washington Post they were not informed in advance of the change and described being shocked by the revised language.
- Republican Senator Bill Cassidy criticized the shift, reaffirmed that vaccines are safe and do not cause autism, and warned the messaging risks worsening current outbreaks, including measles and severe whooping cough in Louisiana.
- Following earlier reports that a deal with Cassidy kept the page’s headline, a new note on the site states the headline was not left in place because of an agreement with the Senate committee chair.