The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to investigate potential links between vaccines and autism—a move that contradicts decades of scientific research that has repeatedly disproven any such connection. The decision reportedly comes in response to requests from Trump administration officials, despite overwhelming evidence dismissing the claim.

A Controversial Reexamination

Both former President Donald Trump and former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have been vocal in suggesting vaccines contribute to autism, a stance widely refuted by public health experts.

“As President Trump said in his Joint Address to Congress, the rate of autism in American children has skyrocketed. CDC will leave no stone unturned in its mission to figure out what exactly is happening. The American people expect high-quality research and transparency, and that is what CDC is delivering," said HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon.

According to CDC data, autism diagnoses have indeed increased significantly, from 1 in 150 children in 2000 to 1 in 36 today. However, experts attribute this rise primarily to increased awareness and refined diagnostic criteria, rather than vaccines.

Established Science Versus Political Pressure

Scientists widely agree that vaccines do not cause autism. Numerous large-scale studies, including a 2019 Danish study involving half a million children, have found no link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism.

“Dozens and dozens of studies have been conducted looking at vaccines and autism, and they all show the same result: no relationship,” said Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation.

The unfounded claim that vaccines cause autism stems from a now-retracted 1998 study by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, whose medical license was revoked due to professional misconduct. Despite its debunking, the study fueled widespread vaccine hesitancy.

Public Health Concerns and Expert Backlash

Public health experts argue that revisiting this issue diverts resources from more pressing autism research. “Spending taxpayer dollars to study something that has already been exhaustively studied is a waste and a diversion,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that funding should instead focus on understanding autism's true causes and improving support for affected families.

Critics are also concerned about Kennedy’s influence on vaccine policies. During Senate hearings, Sen. Bill Cassidy pressed Kennedy to acknowledge that vaccines do not cause autism, securing a commitment to keep CDC’s existing stance on its website.

A Study Destined to Confirm the Obvious?

The CDC’s upcoming study will utilize its Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), a surveillance system that has monitored vaccine safety since 1990. The VSD tracks rare adverse events and provides real-time data analysis, but experts believe it will only reconfirm previous findings.

“The reality is that it’s been studied,” said Richard Hughes IV, a former public policy executive at Moderna and vaccine law professor at George Washington University. “There is no link, and it’s just irresponsible.”

As the CDC moves forward with its study, the public health community remains wary of the potential repercussions, fearing it could fuel vaccine misinformation and undermine confidence in immunization programs.