WHO Committee Reaffirms It One More Time: VACCINES DON'T CAUSE AUTISM

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.

He has now hijacked the CDC website -- and the CDC itself.

A release from the World Health Organization:

New analysis from a WHO global expert committee on vaccine safety has found that, based on available evidence, no causal link exists between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The conclusion reaffirms WHO’s position that childhood vaccines do not cause autism.

The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS), established in 1999, brings together international experts to provide independent and authoritative scientific advice to WHO on global vaccine safety related priorities.

The latest analysis, discussed by the Committee on 27 November 2025, focused first on the relationship between thiomersal-containing vaccines and ASD, and the association between vaccines in general and ASD. Evidence based on 31 primary research studies, published between January 2010 and August 2025, including data from multiple countries, strongly supports the positive safety profile of vaccines used during childhood and pregnancy, and confirms the absence of a causal link with ASD.

The Committee also assessed the review of potential health risks associated with vaccines with aluminum adjuvants, drawing on studies conducted from 1999 through March 2023. In addition, it reviewed a recent large cohort study analyzing nationwide registry data of children born in Denmark between 1997 and 2018. In summary, the available high-quality evidence shows no association between the trace amounts of aluminum used in some vaccines and ASD, supporting the ongoing use of vaccines with aluminum adjuvants.

Following its review, GACVS reaffirms its previous conclusions from 2002, 2004 and 2012: vaccines, including those with thiomersal and/or aluminum, do not cause autism.

WHO advises all national authorities to rely on the latest science and ensure vaccine policies are grounded in the strongest available evidence. Global childhood immunization efforts represent one of the greatest achievements in improving lives, livelihoods and the prosperity of societies. During the past 50 years, childhood immunization has saved at least 154 million lives.

WHO Affirms That Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism

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.

Polls show that many Americans either believe the myth or think it could be true.

Trump has spread this myth and withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization.

From the World Health Organization:

New analysis from a WHO global expert committee on vaccine safety has found that, based on available evidence, no causal link exists between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The conclusion reaffirms WHO’s position that childhood vaccines do not cause autism.

The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS), established in 1999, brings together international experts to provide independent and authoritative scientific advice to WHO on global vaccine safety related priorities.

The latest analysis, discussed by the Committee on 27 November 2025, focused first on the relationship between thiomersal-containing vaccines and ASD, and the association between vaccines in general and ASD. Evidence based on 31 primary research studies, published between January 2010 and August 2025, including data from multiple countries, strongly supports the positive safety profile of vaccines used during childhood and pregnancy, and confirms the absence of a causal link with ASD.

The Committee also assessed the review of potential health risks associated with vaccines with aluminum adjuvants, drawing on studies conducted from 1999 through March 2023. In addition, it reviewed a recent large cohort study analyzing nationwide registry data of children born in Denmark between 1997 and 2018. In summary, the available high-quality evidence shows no association between the trace amounts of aluminum used in some vaccines and ASD, supporting the ongoing use of vaccines with aluminum adjuvants.

Following its review, GACVS reaffirms its previous conclusions from 2002, 2004 and 2012: vaccines, including those with thiomersal and/or aluminum, do not cause autism.

WHO advises all national authorities to rely on the latest science and ensure vaccine policies are grounded in the strongest available evidence. Global childhood immunization efforts represent one of the greatest achievements in improving lives, livelihoods and the prosperity of societies. During the past 50 years, childhood immunization has saved at least 154 million lives.

The Measles Threat

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.

CDC:

Measles vaccination coverage has steadily declined since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, a record high of nearly 40 million children missed a measles vaccine dose: 25 million children missed their first dose and an additional 14.7 million children missed their second dose, a joint publication by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. This decline is a significant setback in global progress towards achieving and maintaining measles elimination and leaves millions of children susceptible to infection.

In 2021, there were an estimated 9 million cases and 128,000 deaths from measles worldwide. Twenty-two countries experienced large and disruptive outbreaks. Declines in vaccine coverage, weakened measles surveillance, and continued interruptions and delays in immunization activities due to COVID-19, as well as persistent large outbreaks in 2022, mean that measles is an imminent threat in every region of the world.

“The paradox of the pandemic is that while vaccines against COVID-19 were developed in record time and deployed in the largest vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programs were badly disrupted, and millions of kids missed out on life-saving vaccinations against deadly diseases like measles,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Getting immunization programs back on track is absolutely critical. Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of a preventable disease.”

The situation is grave: measles is one of the most contagious human viruses but is almost entirely preventable through vaccination. Coverage of 95% or greater of 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine is needed to create herd immunity in order to protect communities and achieve and maintain measles elimination. The world is well under that, with only 81% of children receiving their first measles-containing vaccine dose, and only 71% of children receiving their second measles-containing vaccine dose. These are the lowest global coverage rates of the first dose of measles vaccination since 2008, although coverage varies by country.

WHO on Disability and Autism

A release from the World Health Organization:

The World Health Assembly continued progress Friday, approving plans to better incorporate palliative care, expand inclusion of the needs of those affected by autism, improve access to health care for those with disabilities, better integrate the use of traditional medicine and raise awareness of psoriasis.
...
Disability action plan

A new WHO global disability action plan 2014–2021 aims to improve the health and quality of life of the one billion people around the world with disabilities by improving their access to health care and creating new and strengthening existing services and technologies that help them acquire or restore skills and functions. It also aims to strengthen data and research.

People with disabilities have the same general health care needs as others, but are three times more likely to be denied health care and four times more likely to be treated badly in health facilities. One in seven people worldwide has a disability. As people live longer and chronic diseases increase, more people are likely to develop disabilities. Road traffic crashes, falls, violence, natural disasters and conflict, unhealthy diet and substance abuse can also lead to disability.

Autism spectrum disorders

The Health Assembly urged Member States to include the needs of individuals affected by autism spectrum and other developmental disorders in policies and programmes related to child and adolescent health and development and mental health. This means increasing the capacity of health and social care systems to provide services for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and for their families and shifting the focus of care from long-stay health facilities towards non-residential services in the community. It also means improving health surveillance systems to capture data on autism spectrum disorders and ensuring countries are better able to diagnose and treat autism spectrum disorders.

The resolution highlights the need for the WHO Secretariat to help strengthen countries’ capacities to address autism spectrum and other developmental disorders; facilitate resource mobilization; engage with autism-related networks; and monitor progress. All efforts will be conducted in alignment with the WHO Mental health action plan 2013–2020.

Autism spectrum disorders comprise a range of development disorders which include autism, childhood disintegrative disorder and Asperger syndrome. Worldwide, most people with autism spectrum disorders and their families do not receive any care from health and social care systems.

An International Report on Disability

Disability Scoop reports:

More than 1 billion people around the world live with disabilities, according to a new report offering the first look in 40 years at the global prevalence of disabilities.

The findings presented Thursday come from a report produced by the World Health Organization and the World Bank. It shows that about 15 percent of the world’s population have disabilities and that number is on the rise due to aging and growth in chronic health conditions.

What’s more, of those living with disabilities, between 110 and 190 million are believed to experience significant functioning difficulties.

Disabilities are more common in poor countries and among women, older individuals and people living in low-income households, the report found.

The report has relatively little to say about autism in particular, however. Here is the longest such passage, from pp. 120-121 of the report:

New Zealand’s pioneering Autistic Spectrum Disorder Guidelines, developed in response to gaps in service, provide a good example of the evidence-based approach. The guidelines cover identification and diagnosis of conditions, and discuss access to interventions and services (271). A wide range of stakeholders were involved in developing the guidelines, including people with autism, parents of children with autism, medical, educational, and community providers, and researchers from New Zealand and elsewhere, with particular attention to the perspectives and experiences of Māori and Pacific people. As a result of these guidelines, proven programmes have been scaled-up, increasing numbers of people trained in assessment and diagnosis of autism, and increasing numbers of people enquiring about and receiving information on the condition. A range of programmes to help support families of people with disabilities have also

been started (272). Guidelines developed for one setting may need adaptation for implementation in another setting.

271. New Zealand autism spectrum disorder guideline. Wellington, New Zealand Ministries of Health and Education, 2008

(http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/nz-asd-guideline-apr08, accessed 15 March 2010).

272. Disability support services. Wellington, New Zealand Ministry of Health, 2009 (http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/

pagesmh/8594/$File/asd-newsletter-mar09.pdf, accessed 16 May 2009).