In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread. Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio. A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
RFK Jr had committed to Bill Cassidy, as a condition to win his vote, that he would keep website language.
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) November 20, 2025
Cassidy in February: “If confirmed… CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism.”
Note the language in second photo. https://t.co/DPuToMMO2q pic.twitter.com/FQTY4GaecD
Scientific information on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website was replaced on Wednesday with anti-vaccine talking points that don’t rule out a link between vaccines and autism, despite an abundance of evidence that there’s no connection.
Bullet points on the top of the page now state that “vaccines do not cause autism is not an evidence-based claim” because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism. However, the preponderance of scientific evidence shows this is not true, according to a position statement from the Autism Science Foundation.
“The science is clear that vaccines do not cause autism. 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,” the Autism Science Foundation said in a statement on Thursday.
Other CDC bullets say studies supporting a link between vaccines and autism have been ignored by health authorities. This, too, is not true. Studies showing a connection between vaccines and autism have proven to be fraudulent or have been poorly done or biased. There are many well done, credible studies that find no such relationship.
The page also says HHS has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.
The main heading on the page states “Vaccines do not cause Autism,” but now has an asterisk that directs readers to a footnote: “The header “Vaccines do not cause autism” has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.”
The footnote seems to refer to a commitment by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician and Republican from Louisiana, during his confirmation process that language on the CDC website “pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism” would not be removed. Cassidy described the promise in a speech in which he explained his support for Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said Thursday, “We are updating the CDC’s website to reflect gold standard, evidence-based science.”
In a post on social media late Wednesday night, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who recently resigned as director of the CDC’s National Center on Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, called the changes “a national embarrassment.”
