CDC’s new claim that vaccines cannot be ruled out as autism cause leads to confusion, misinformation, public health experts say
Northeastern professors say a change in CDC website on autism and vaccines will lead to years of confusion and vaccine refusal
A new statement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it is not ruling out a connection between vaccines and autism is sowing confusion and misinformation, Northeastern University public health experts warn.
They expressed concern that the change will lead to vaccine refusal, undermine the vaccine delivery system and deepen public distrust in government in ways that will take years to reverse. The CDC announced the change on its Vaccine Safety website.
“It’s going to have a big impact,” said Neil Maniar, director of Northeastern’s master of public health program.
Some parents will be asking, “‘Do I vaccinate my child or not?’” said Ashleigh Shields, a Northeastern assistant teaching professor of public health and health sciences and expert in health communications.
“It increases anxiety,” she said.
The CDC retreated from its long-held position that vaccines do not cause autism. It said the claim is not evidence-based “because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”
Bullet points on the webpage announcing the change say that studies proving a link have been ignored by health authorities and that the Department of Health and Human Services is “conducting a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism.”
“That is a blatantly false statement,” Maniar said. He said large-scale, international studies show “vaccines are safe, they are effective and they do not increase the risk of autism.”
Maniar questioned the motives behind the CDC’s statement, citing HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s standing as a longtime vaccine skeptic.
Kennedy fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the CDC on vaccine recommendations, filling some spots on the panel with fellow skeptics.
“I think this will lead to a reduction in all types of vaccination,” Maniar said. “When the CDC puts out information like this, it has a wide-ranging impact.”
The CDC statement seems to be a reflection of turmoil on all levels at the federal health agency, said Elizabeth Glowacki, an associate teaching professor in public health and health sciences and expert in health communication at Northeastern.
The vaccines and autism page also is not clear in that its new bullet points are followed by a heading that maintains the previous CDC stance, “vaccines do not cause autism,” albeit with an asterisk.
“The mixed messaging is a springboard for confusion,” Glowacki said. “People have a tough time with inconsistency. All of us do.”
Glowacki said that inconsistency could sway people who are uncertain about getting vaccinated.
Childhood immunizations are already under fire in places like Florida, where they are no longer required for school admission, and Texas and other states experiencing a measles outbreak.
The fact that there is no clear cause of autism leaves people looking for something to blame, Shields said.
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Jean Bowden of Mashpee, Massachusetts, the mother of a 38-year-old daughter with autism, said parents are tormented by the lack of answers.
Over the years, she has mulled over possibilities that experts and others have posed, including the increased recognition of autism and the genetic component as well as whether there could be links to viruses and medications.
Bowden has seen a growing rift between parents of high-functioning children with autism and those with children who are severely impacted like her own, who she said is thriving in a residential program with 24-hour care.
Kennedy, who told the New York Times that the changes in CDC language came at his instruction, has struck a sympathetic nerve with families like hers, whose children are non-verbal and sometimes violent, Bowden said. Whatever causes autism, she said, “It breaks up marriages. It causes bankruptcies.”
Nearly one in two surveyed parents believe vaccines played a role in their children’s autism, said the CDC, which called for “gold standard” science to investigate the causes of autism.
But science already has ruled out vaccines as a cause of autism, Maniar said. He said he fears that the infrastructure to deliver vaccines will be weakened, which could have an impact on children already at risk of health disparities.
“We know trust is really hard to build and really easy to break,” Maniar said. “It could be decades before we rebuild it in certain communities.”
