LEILA FADEL, HOST:
For years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been clear - vaccines do not cause autism.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Well, the agency has changed its position. Now its website says vaccines might cause autism even though the science says it doesn't.
FADEL: NPR's Pien Huang is here to explain this about-face, and she joins me now. Good morning.
PIEN HUANG, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: Pien, do we know who made that change?
HUANG: No one is owning up to it yet. So CDC scientists say they did not change the website, and the Department of Health and Human Services wouldn't say who ordered the change. But it is aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who's had a long-held opinion that vaccines are dangerous. This is something that he has written books about, so both critics and supporters of this move think that he's behind it. Here's Mary Holland. She's CEO of Children's Health Defense, which is the anti-vaccine organization that Kennedy used to lead.
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MARY HOLLAND: Well, I want us to acknowledge that I don't think this would've happened but for having Secretary of HHS Robert Kennedy in that position.
HUANG: She was speaking in a video on the group's website. And she celebrated and welcomed the change, as do many who were skeptical of vaccines.
FADEL: OK, Kennedy's skeptical of vaccines. She's skeptical of vaccines. But the science doesn't back that up. Is there any new science to support this claim that vaccines might cause autism?
HUANG: There isn't. People who are steeped in this research say that this is an issue that has been studied exhaustively for many years. Here's Alison Singer with the Autism Science Foundation, which funds research.
ALISON SINGER: The studies are very clear. Vaccines don't cause autism. And we need to turn our attention to studying other causes of autism.
HUANG: Singer says that those other causes include things like genetics, like family history, exposure to certain drugs or air pollution or even illnesses during pregnancy. And, Leila, here's another interesting thing. A headline on the CDC's webpage still says, quote, "vaccines do not cause autism."
FADEL: Oh.
HUANG: But there's a big asterisk next to it. And that leads to an explanation that the reason the CDC is not removing it is because of an agreement with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who provided a key confirmation vote for Kennedy.
FADEL: How has Senator Cassidy responded?
HUANG: Well, on X in a statement, he said that the developments were deeply troubling. He accused HHS of canceling funding for research into other causes of autism and refocusing on vaccines, which he said were, quote, "safe and effective and will not cause autism." And this is something that major medical groups are also united in saying. They're saying that this is wrong. Here's Dr. Sean O'Leary from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
SEAN O'LEARY: This is madness. I'm so sorry that this is going to have an impact on, frankly, the health of children. I fear that it's going to lead to fewer children being vaccinated, children suffering from diseases they didn't need to suffer from.
HUANG: O'Leary called it a dark day. He says that he's been dealing with vaccine misinformation for years, but the difference here is that it's now coming from the federal government.
FADEL: I mean, on that point, what does this do to people's trust in the CDC?
HUANG: I mean, this is an agency that's been in turmoil this year. They've lost between a quarter and a third of their staff. One of my sources told me that it's like the Titanic there right now with people wondering when to bail. So even people who are working there say the public should no longer trust some key information from the CDC, especially when it comes to vaccines.
FADEL: That's NPR's Pien Huang. Thank you, Pien.
HUANG: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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