CDC’s Autism Statement Sparks New Concerns Over Vaccine Safety Messaging

This article was updated at 2 PM EST on November 21, 2025.

In a controversial move, the CDC updated its website and retracted a statement establishing that vaccines do not cause autism. Health experts are raising the alarm, as decades of research confirm that there is no substantial link between the two.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to promote false information suggesting vaccines cause autism," said Susan J. Kressly, MD, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in a statement. "Since 1998, independent researchers across 7 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."¹

The CDC’s previous version of the webpage, which has since been archived, stated explicitly that “vaccines do not cause autism” and that “studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder.”²

Now, the agency’s website reads, “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.”³

The updated webpage features significant differences from the original, such as the removal of information about autism and the inclusion of questionable studies confirming such a link between autism and vaccines.³

One study cited points to the inclusion of aluminum in vaccines as a driving factor for neurodevelopmental and neurodivergent disorders, such as autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. However, a nationwide study in Denmark of 1.2 million children found no such association and confirmed that vaccines and aluminum in vaccines are safe.^3,4

The CDC’s revised position on the relationship between vaccines and autism is concerning, especially as the US is anticipated to lose its measles eradication status. These claims may further drive vaccine hesitancy and skepticism, leading to reductions in vaccinations and compromised herd immunity.⁵

On Friday, November 21, 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said he personally instructed the CDC to make the change to its website, according to reporting by The New York Times. Although he acknowledged that large-scale studies of the preservative thimerosal and studies of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine have not found any links to autism, he pointed to gaps in vaccine safety science. Kennedy reiterated his argument that he is not saying that vaccines cause autism; rather, he is saying there is no proof that they do not.⁶

Do Vaccines Cause Autism?

In short, vaccines do not cause autism. Decades of research show no association between the two. The misconception that vaccines lead to the development of autism dates to a study performed by Andrew Wakefield and 12 of his colleagues in 1998. The paper, published in The Lancet, claimed that the MMR vaccine is directly linked to autism.⁷

When the paper was published, it received significant criticism. It was retracted in 2010, with The Lancet “admitting that several elements in the paper were incorrect, contrary to the findings of the earlier investigation. Wakefield et al were guilty of ethical violations (they had conducted invasive investigations of children without obtaining the necessary ethical clearances) and scientific misrepresentation (they reported that their sampling was consecutive when, in fact, it was selective). This retraction was published as a small, anonymous paragraph in the journal, on behalf of the editors.”⁷

Wakefield and his team were also guilty of deliberate fraud—cherry-picking data that suited their case and falsifying facts.⁷

Even after The Lancet retracted the paper, its influence on vaccine safety beliefs persists. Since Kennedy assumed his present position, the study has resurfaced and is again being used to support vaccine misinformation.

Are Vaccines Safe for Children?

Vaccines are safe for children, and hundreds of studies support and establish the benefits of childhood vaccination. Childhood vaccination is crucial and responsible for the near-eradication of, or significant reductions in morbidity and mortality from, different viruses and infectious diseases.

For example, polio was nearly eradicated in the US following the development of the polio vaccine, a significant moment in American history. Since then, the polio vaccine has been a key component of childhood vaccine schedules, and as of 2025, polio can be considered a disease of the past.⁸

There is also the combined MMR vaccine introduced in 1971. By 2000, measles was eradicated in the US. However, growing vaccine hesitancy in recent years led to an ongoing outbreak totaling 1753 cases as of November 19, 2025.^9,10

Another vaccine that has been brought into the limelight is the hepatitis B vaccine. Despite the significant benefits of hepatitis B vaccination in preventing chronic liver disease later in life, the timing of administration for this vaccine is called into question.

However, a landmark field study in the early 1980s evaluated a large-scale hepatitis B screening and vaccination program across rural Native Alaskan communities and showed that immunization dramatically reduced new hepatitis B infections. By pairing widespread screening with targeted vaccination of susceptible individuals—and later, universal newborn vaccination—the program nearly eliminated new chronic hepatitis B cases among Alaska Native children within a decade.¹¹

How Does the CDC’s Statement Impact Vaccine Hesitancy?

The CDC’s abrupt reversal has created an information vacuum at a time when trust in public health is already strained. When a federal agency—long considered the scientific anchor for vaccine guidance—casts doubt on decades of evidence, confusion and misinformation fill the gap. This shift doesn’t merely change a webpage; it reshapes public perception and risks undoing hard-won progress in preventing entirely avoidable diseases.

The US is already confronting rising measles outbreaks, slipping vaccination rates, and increasing skepticism toward childhood immunizations. Weakening clarity around vaccine safety may accelerate these trends, leaving communities more vulnerable to outbreaks and children at greater risk of preventable illness.

Pharmacists play a crucial role as frontline health care workers, often administering regular vaccinations to their communities. Through education and counseling, pharmacists can help patients make informed, science-based decisions that they feel confident in.

As misinformation mounts and the reliability of the CDC and other health agencies persists in doubt, the need for transparent, science-driven guidance becomes critical to protecting public health.

REFERENCES

1. Stein R, Huang P. The CDC revives debunked 'link' between childhood vaccines and autism. NPR. November 20, 2025. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/11/20/nx-s1-5615040/cdc-rfk-childhood-vaccines-autism

2. Autism and vaccines. CDC. December 30, 2024. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.restoredcdc.org/www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/about/autism.html

3. Autism and vaccines. CDC. November 19, 2025. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/about/autism.html

4. Gerlach A. Danish study affirms safety of aluminum in childhood vaccines. Pharmacy Times. July 23, 2025. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/danish-study-affirms-safety-of-aluminum-in-childhood-vaccines

5. Michaud J. Measles elimination status: what it is and how the U.S. could lose it. KFF. July 28, 2025. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.kff.org/other-health/measles-elimination-status-what-it-is-and-how-the-u-s-could-lose-it/

6. Stolberg SG. Kennedy says he told CDC to change website's language on autism and vaccines. New York Times. November 21, 2025. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/us/politics/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccines-autism-website.html

7. Rao TS, Andrade C. The MMR vaccine and autism: sensation, refutation, retraction, and fraud. Indian J Psychiatry. 2011;53(2):95-96. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.82529

8. The history of polio – from eradication to re-emergence. Pan American Health Organization. September 2022. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.paho.org/en/stories/history-polio-eradication-re-emergence

9. A brief history of vaccines. World Health Organization. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/a-brief-history-of-vaccination

10. Measles cases and outbreaks. CDC. November 19, 2025. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html

11. Committee on a National Strategy for the Elimination of Hepatitis B and C; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Health and Medicine Division; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Buckley GJ, Strom BL, eds. Eliminating the Public Health Problem of Hepatitis B and C in the United States: Phase One Report. National Academies Press (US); 2016. doi:10.17226/23407