The updated page did not go through normal scientific clearance, Daniel Jernigan, a top CDC leader who resigned in August<\/a>, told STAT, citing conversations with CDC staff. Another person familiar with the situation, not authorized to speak publicly, also said that the CDC office that manages the page was not involved in the decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n The former head of the CDC center that oversees immunization policy and implementation concurred.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200b\u200bFrom my personal communications with folks, everyone was blindsided from the perspective of career scientists,\u201d said Demetre Daskalakis, who was director of CDC\u2019s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases until he quit in August at the same time as Jernigan.<\/p>\n The changes are the latest move by the federal health department, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>, to sow doubt about childhood vaccines. Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has for years pushed the discredited idea<\/a> that there is a link between vaccines and a rise in autism cases.<\/p>\n \u201cAll I can say is \u2018Wake up, America. This administration wants to take your vaccines away from you. And they\u2019re on a path to do that,\u2019\u201d Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota\u2019s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, home of the Vaccine Integrity Project, said in an interview.<\/p>\n \t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tHere is how we know that vaccines do not cause autism<\/a><\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told STAT that studies supporting a link between vaccines and autism \u201chave been ignored by health authorities,\u201d echoing a claim on the CDC page.<\/p>\n \u201cHHS has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links,\u201d HHS said in a statement. According to HHS, federal lawmakers were informed in advance of the change.\u00a0<\/p>\n Multitudes of studies have been conducted over decades<\/a> to look for a link between autism and various vaccines or components of vaccines, such as the preservative thimerosal<\/a> or the adjuvant aluminum<\/a>. They have failed to find compelling evidence of a link.<\/p>\n \u201cThe conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There\u2019s no link between vaccines and autism,\u201d Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement. \u201cAnyone repeating this harmful myth is misinformed or intentionally trying to mislead parents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Kressly said that more than 40 studies involving 5.6 million people have been conducted to disprove any link.<\/p>\n The changes to the CDC website appear to violate at least the spirit of a promise Kennedy made during his confirmation hearing to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), whose vote sealed Kennedy\u2019s approval, that \u201cCDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, the website maintains a header reading \u201cVaccines do not cause autism*\u201d, though the text of the page has been entirely altered to dispute that claim.<\/p>\n \t\t\t \t\t\t\t At the very bottom of the page is an explanation for the asterisk: It says the subhead could not be removed due to the agreement with Cassidy.\u00a0The senator has not responded to STAT\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n In a post on X<\/a> on Thursday afternoon, Cassidy weighed in, without mentioning the CDC or Kennedy by name.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat 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,\u201d he said. \u201cAny statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker.\u201d<\/p>\n It is not the first time that Kennedy has reneged on assurances he gave Cassidy to secure the senator\u2019s support for his confirmation, but it is perhaps the most brazen. In June, Kennedy dismissed a panel of federal vaccine advisers<\/a> and handpicked replacements<\/a>, including several with anti-vaccine views.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cassidy said Kennedy had promised to maintain the recommendations of that panel, known as ACIP, without changes, but former CDC Director Susan Monarez told Congress<\/a> that Kennedy had pressured her to accept their recommendations before reviewing their evidence.\u00a0The CDC is currently led by acting Director Jim O\u2019Neill, who is also deputy secretary of HHS.<\/p>\n Cassidy, a physician, expressed concerns about Kennedy\u2019s views on vaccines, but ultimately voted to confirm him.<\/p>\n Children\u2019s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group once led by Kennedy, celebrated the change Thursday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFinally, the CDC is beginning to acknowledge the truth about this condition that affects millions, disavowing the bold, long-running lie that \u2018vaccines do not cause autism,\u2019\u201d Mary Holland, president and CEO of the group, said in a statement. \u201cNo studies have ever proved this irresponsible claim; on the contrary, many studies point to vaccines as the plausible primary cause of autism.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t \t\t\t\t Instructions to change the website came from HHS, Jernigan said. The CDC scientific staff who were notified of the pending change protested that the information should not be posted, but they were overruled, he added, saying that many of the scientific leaders who remain at the CDC were unaware that the website was about to be changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some CDC staffers spent Thursday morning trying to learn more about how the changes were made and who was behind them, according to one person familiar with the efforts. Daskalakis said he\u2019d heard some were in tears when they discovered the altered webpage.<\/p>\n Public health experts warned that the CDC is no longer a trustworthy source of vaccine information.<\/p>\n \u201cIt comes not as a shock but it\u2019s hard to believe that on the CDC website we have disinformation,\u201d said Kathryn Edwards, a Vanderbilt professor emerita of pediatrics who is part of the university\u2019s vaccine research program.<\/p>\n Daskalakis said the page will advance Kennedy\u2019s efforts to undermine confidence in vaccines.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve weaponized CDC to be able to achieve their ends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The CDC webpage states that the changes were made in compliance with the Data Quality Act, which mandates that federal agencies ensure the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information they share with the public.<\/p>\n \u201cScientific studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines contribute to the development of autism,\u201d the website says. \u201cHowever, this statement has historically been disseminated by the CDC and other federal health agencies within HHS to prevent vaccine hesitancy.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-1241439406-768x432.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\tSTAT Plus: Fear and politics pervade Kennedy\u2019s CDC, former leaders testify<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Final-Illustration-768x432.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\tSTAT Plus: How RFK Jr., America\u2019s celebrity health secretary, is steamrolling science<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP21347762419279-768x432.jpg\")
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