NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website has been changed to deny the long-held scientific conclusion that vaccines don’t cause autism, sparking outrage from many public health and autism experts.
CDC “Vaccine Safety” web page was updated Wednesday to say, “The statement ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim.”
The changes are the latest move by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reexamine long-held scientific consensus about human safety and add to the uncertainty. vaccine and other Pharmaceutical products.
This was quickly dismissed by scientists and advocates who have long focused on understanding the causes of autism.
“We are appalled that the contents of the CDC’s ‘Autism and Vaccines’ webpage have been altered, distorted and filled with anti-vaccine rhetoric and outright lies about vaccines and autism,” the Autism Science Foundation said in a statement Thursday.
Broad scientific consensus and decades of research strongly conclude that there is no link between vaccines and autism. “The conclusion is clear and unequivocal,” Dr. Susan Kressley, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement Thursday.
“We call on the CDC to stop wasting government resources amplifying false claims that cast doubt on routine immunizations, one of the best ways to keep children healthy and growing,” she said.
The CDC has previously reiterated that the push for vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration is not relevant.
But anti-vaccine activists, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who became secretary of Health and Human Services this year, have long maintained that a vaccine exists.
It is unclear whether anyone at the CDC was actually involved in this change or whether Kennedy’s HHS, which oversees the CDC, made the change.
Many at the CDC were surprised.
“I spoke with several scientists at the CDC yesterday, and none of them were aware of this change,” said Dr. Debra Hawley, a member of the CDC’s senior group. who quit From the agency in August. “When scientists are excluded from scientific reviews, it creates inaccurate and ideological information.”
No new studies are cited on the updated page. Instead, they argue that past research supporting a link has been ignored by health officials.
“HHS has begun a comprehensive evaluation of the causes of autism, including investigation into plausible biological mechanisms and potential causal relationships. Additionally, we are updating the CDC website to reflect gold standard, evidence-based science,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in an email Thursday.
Many former CDC officials say they can no longer trust CDC posts on certain subjects, including vaccine safety.
Dr. Daniel Jernigan, who also resigned from the agency in August, told reporters Wednesday that Kennedy “seems to be moving from evidence-based decision-making to evidence-based decision-making.”
senator bill cassidyThe Louisiana Republican played a crucial role in approving Kennedy’s nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services earlier this year. cassidy initially expressed concern As for Kennedy, he said this in February: swore In particular, do not remove language from the CDC website stating that vaccines do not cause autism.
The new site still carries the headline “Vaccines do not cause autism,” but HHS officials have placed an asterisk next to it. A note at the bottom of the page says the language “was not removed due to an agreement with the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to remain on the CDC website.”
A spokeswoman for Ms. Cassidy did not respond to a request for comment.
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