Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Thursday said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removing language from its website refuting the theory that vaccines are linked to autism was “deeply troubling.”
Late on Wednesday, the CDC walked back its long-held position that vaccines do not cause autism.
A CDC web page that previously stated “there is no link” between receiving vaccines and developing autism now says that statement “is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long supported the theory that vaccines are linked to autism, adamantly refusing to discount it when confronted by Cassidy during one of his confirmation hearings.
“I’m a doctor who has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. What 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. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker,” Cassidy wrote on the social media platform X.
During Kennedy’s confirmation hearing, Cassidy made it clear that the then-nominee’s anti-vaccine beliefs were a sticking point in confirming him, saying he was “struggling” with that specific issue. Nevertheless, Cassidy ultimately voted for Kennedy for HHS secretary after receiving assurances from the White House.
Since confirming Kennedy, Cassidy has continued to butt heads with him when it comes to vaccinations, getting into a heated exchange during a September hearing over the canceling of $500 million in contracts for mRNA research.
He’s also expressed apprehension about potential changes to the hepatitis B vaccine schedule, which will be voted on by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices next month. The committee was remade by Kennedy earlier this year with members sympathetic to his views on immunization.
“We need to understand the real causes of autism. Studies show there’s a genetic predisposition when a mom who’s pregnant is exposed to environmental toxins which can increase a child’s risk of autism,” Cassidy wrote on Thursday.
“It’s deeply troubling that, according to HHS officials, they appeared to have canceled hundreds of millions in research on autism genetics. Redirecting attention to factors we definitely know DO NOT cause autism denies families the answers they deserve.”