The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has quietly updated its website regarding the link between vaccines and autism, changing its stance from previously stating that studies have shown no link to now acknowledging that studies have not ruled out the possibility. This alteration follows years of controversy and aims to reflect a more nuanced understanding of the issue, though the agency notes the statement "vaccines do not cause autism" has been historically disseminated to combat vaccine hesitancy.
The CDC's updated wording indicates that the claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not evidence-based because research has not definitively excluded this possibility. The agency has initiated a comprehensive assessment into potential causes of autism, including investigations into plausible biological mechanisms and causal links.
While the header "Vaccines do not cause autism" remains, it is now accompanied by an asterisk, signifying that its persistence is due to a prior agreement rather than conclusive evidence. Organizations like Children's Health Defense have applauded the CDC's updated stance, asserting that the previous denial of a vaccine-autism link was a long-standing falsehood and that numerous studies suggest vaccines as a potential primary cause of autism.
Conversely, other medical organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, maintain that studies have repeatedly found no credible link between vaccines and autism, emphasizing that vaccines are not a cause and that autism has no single root cause. The article also highlights a significant increase in autism diagnoses in recent years, with rates rising from approximately 0.67% in 2000 to 3.2% in 2016 data.
