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CDC's Vaccine-Autism Claims Spark Controversy and Distrust

11/21/2025

Summary

Story summary

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its vaccine-autism page to question the long-standing claim that vaccines do not cause autism, triggering backlash.
The Autism Science Foundation criticized the change as anti-vaccine rhetoric, and former CDC officials expressed distrust in the agency's vaccine-safety messaging.
The Department of Health and Human Services is conducting a comprehensive autism-causes assessment, and critics say this signals a shift from evidence-based to decision-based science.

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Story summary

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its vaccine-autism page to question the long-standing claim that vaccines do not cause autism, triggering backlash.
The Autism Science Foundation criticized the change as anti-vaccine rhetoric, and former CDC officials expressed distrust in the agency's vaccine-safety messaging.
The Department of Health and Human Services is conducting a comprehensive autism-causes assessment, and critics say this signals a shift from evidence-based to decision-based science.