Under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine advocate who is now Health and Human Services secretary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its website to say that its previous statement that “vaccines do not cause autism” is “not an evidence-based claim.” But it’s the revised website that misleads about vaccines.
Amid confusion over this year’s updated COVID-19 vaccines, we explain what’s different this year and who experts say should get vaccinated.
A substantial body of evidence supports the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy, contrary to the suggestions of some members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently reconstituted the committee.
On Sept. 18, the vaccine advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to change its recommendation on the combined vaccine for chickenpox and measles, mumps and rubella, called the MMRV vaccine. We spoke to experts about claims made at the meeting as well as the implications of the vote.
An hourlong press conference about autism was filled with false and misleading claims about the condition and vaccines from President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., many of which we have written about before.
News reports have indicated Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may point to Tylenol and folate deficiency in his promised announcement on the causes of autism. But neither Tylenol nor folate deficiency has been shown to cause autism. Some evidence has pointed away from Tylenol as a risk factor.
A large Danish study recently provided reassurance that aluminum-containing vaccines are not associated with increased rates of chronic health conditions in children, including autism. But Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. misrepresented the study’s findings, claiming that the paper’s supplementary data “shows calamitous evidence of harm.”
Amid upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the firing of the agency’s director, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. distorted the facts to falsely claim that the agency’s website lists abortion as one of the “10 greatest advances in medical science.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. misrepresented the country’s compensation program for those who are harmed by vaccines, alleging that it’s biased and corrupt and falsely claiming that a person can’t sue a vaccine company “no matter how negligent they are.” He also incorrectly said there is “zero incentive” for vaccine companies to produce safe vaccines.
In justifying the government’s termination of $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine projects, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed mRNA vaccines “fail to protect effectively” against COVID-19 and suggested they are unsafe. The mRNA shots saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and have shown promise against influenza.