The CDC website now claims "studies supporting a link [between vaccines and autism] have been ignored by health authorities."
Updated on November 19, 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) website page on
"The claim 'vaccines do not cause autism' is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism."1
Further, the webpage suggests health authorities have long "ignored" studies that support a link between vaccines and autism. The federal agency now lists that it has launched a "comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links."
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), on November 20, 2025, released the following statement from President Susan J. Kressly, MD, FAAP, regarding the changes to the federal website:
"The [CDC] 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. Anyone repeating this harmful myth is misinformed or intentionally trying to mislead parents. 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. The American Academy of Pediatrics stands with members of the autism community who have asked for support in stopping this rumor from spreading any further.”2
The updated language has not been rewritten across the entire CDC website. As reported by NBC News, the "
On the recently changed webpage that does include the potential link between vaccines and autism, updated on November 19, the CDC states the claim that vaccines do not cause autism has "historically been disseminated by the CDC and other federal health agencies within HHS to prevent vaccine hesitancy."
Since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took over the position, vaccine hesitancy has been a challenge for health care providers, which has stemmed in part from the firing of members of the
Experts in the national media and those who speak with Contemporary Pediatrics continue to promote routine vaccinations and follow evidence.
"I take some heart in the fact that although Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will for the next few years continue to shout from the rooftops that vaccines are causing harms that they don't cause, the fact of the matter is, he's wrong," Paul Offit, MD, told Contemporary Pediatrics in October while discussing vaccine hesitancy. Offit is the director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Ultimately, good science does win out in the end, it always does. So, we will get through this, but I feel like there is going to be a fair amount of damage in the meantime before we get through it."
"Parents used to pray that their children would grow to adulthood because so many children died from vaccine-preventable diseases," Mary Koslap-Petraco, DNP, PPCNP-BC, CPNP, FAANP, told Contemporary Pediatrics. Koslap-Petraco is the clinical assistant professor at the Stony Brook University School of Nursing and a nurse consultant for immunize.org.
"The decision by the CDC to undermine the proven safety and effectiveness of vaccines and blame vaccines for autism based on nothing more than feelings and opinions is a horrendous decision and will frighten parents into not vaccinating. This is going to result in taking the United States back to the pre-vaccine era, where the death and damage from vaccine-preventable diseases become common again."
Autism has been in the national headlines since September, when
"Today’s White House event on autism was filled with dangerous claims and misleading information that sends a confusing message to parents and expecting parents and does a disservice to autistic individuals."
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