Medical, Public Health, and Congressional Leaders Condemn CDC Website Changes Promoting Vaccine-Autism Disinformation
- ccaplan7
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
On Nov. 19, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to make a significant change to its website, falsely suggesting a connection between vaccines and autism.
The current language now sows confusion despite a long list of studies involving millions of children – including one published this summer – that have repeatedly shown there is no link between vaccines and autism. Publicly stating otherwise on official government websites is unprecedented and dangerous for Americans’ health.
Medical organizations, public health groups, and lawmakers swiftly condemned the changes, warning they threaten vaccine confidence, perpetuate misinformation, and put children and adults at risk of contracting and spreading preventable deadly diseases.
Here is a compilation of their reactions.
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Susan Kansagra, MD, MBA issued a statement reaffirming the scientific consensus: "As public health professionals, we unequivocally support the use of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases. The science behind vaccines is robust and well-tested and the overwhelming consensus of scientific evidence is clear that there is no link between vaccines and autism."
Dr. Kansagra emphasized that vaccines remain one of the most significant public health achievements in human history, having saved millions of lives and prevented many more cases of serious illness.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
AAP President Susan J. Kressly, MD, FAAP also released a statement, highlighting that the AAP stands with members of the autism community, who have asked for support in stopping this rumor from spreading any further: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to promote false information suggesting vaccines cause autism. Since 1998, independent researchers across seven countries have conducted more than 40 high-quality studies involving over 5.6 million people. The conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There's no link between vaccines and autism."
Dr. Kressly emphasized that anyone repeating the myth is either misinformed or intentionally trying to mislead parents, adding: "We call 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."
Autism Science Foundation
The Autism Science Foundation issued a statement calling the CDC's new messaging "anti-vaccine rhetoric and outright lies about vaccines and autism." The organization emphasized: "No environmental factor has been better studied as a potential cause of autism than vaccines. This includes vaccine ingredients as well as the body's response to vaccines."
Director Alison Singer noted the language change demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of scientific evidence, highlighting how “the CDC has always been a trustworthy source of scientifically backed information, but it appears this is no longer the case."
Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA)
Sen. Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, responded with great concern: "I'm a doctor who has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker."
The Senator highlighted the real-world consequences of misinformation, noting that “we had two children die and many more hospitalized nationally from measles this year. Louisiana is experiencing its worst whooping cough outbreak in 35 years. Families are getting sick and people are dying from vaccine-preventable deaths, and that tragedy needs to stop.”
Trust for America's Health (TFAH)
TFAH President and CEO J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE issued a statement calling the website changes a violation of public trust: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website has been changed to promote harmful, false claims about vaccines and autism. The science is clear: vaccines do not cause autism. Using a federal platform to promote disproven claims is a violation of public trust that jeopardizes vaccine confidence, undermines prevention efforts, and puts communities at risk of vaccine-preventable outbreaks."
Dr. Gracia emphasized that parents, patients, healthcare providers, and public health practitioners depend on CDC as a trustworthy source of verified, accurate scientific information, calling on the agency to restore previous science-driven vaccine webpages.
Vaccinate Your Family (VYF)
Vaccinate Your Family expressed deep concern over the agency's removal of clear, evidence-based language. The organization emphasized that the reversal "abandons decades of rigorous science, examining the experiences of children across the globe, that have time and time again found that vaccines do not cause autism."
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and population health at Stanford Medicine and a VYF board member, stated: "It is absolutely definitive. There is no link between autism and vaccines. Zero. None."
The organization warned that false statements suggesting vaccines cause autism are particularly dangerous at a time when the nation faces growing vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, including measles, pertussis, and influenza. Vaccinate Your Family also submitted formal comments ahead of the December ACIP meeting, urging federal leaders to restore science-driven communication and reaffirm their commitment to protecting children through accurate vaccine information.
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Dr. Sean O'Leary, head of the American Academy of Pediatrics' infectious diseases committee, called the situation "madness," noting that “one thing that is very clear is that vaccines are not one of those things. They do not cause autism. Period.”
Dr. Jesse Goodman, a former FDA chief scientist and director of the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), also said the website now ignores several large, well-done studies that have shown no association of vaccines with autism. The studies it cites "have major flaws and do not control adequately for other factors potentially associated with autism diagnoses," he said.
The Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease stands with these groups in calling for the immediate restoration of evidence-based guidance on the CDC website.
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