• The CDC updated its website to reflect dubious claims linking vaccines to autism.
• Experts express outrage over the revisions, contradicting decades of scientific consensus.
• The changes stem from alleged political influence within the Department of Health and Human Services.
• The agency maintains a header stating vaccines do not cause autism but with clarifications undermining this assertion.
• Former officials warn of diminished trust in the CDC among public health professionals.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made controversial updates to its online resources concerning vaccines and autism, which have drawn widespread disapproval from the medical community. The revised web page now states that the claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based assertion, suggesting instead that studies supporting a link between vaccines and autism have been ignored by health authorities. This change contradicts decades of research confirming no causal relationship between the two, according to HuffPost, Los Angeles Times, SFGate, CBS News, ABC News, Le Monde, and The Hill.

The implications of this adjustment, made without apparent input from critical CDC scientists, have raised alarm among public health experts. Many assert that it undermines trust in vaccinations, a key public health tool for preventing diseases. For instance, Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, remarked that the revisions contradict a solid body of evidence showing no link between vaccines and autism, emphasizing that "decades of studies have proven otherwise." Critics, including the Autism Science Foundation, labeled the change as a dangerous step back in public health policy, rejecting the narrative introduced on the CDC site, according to HuffPost, Los Angeles Times, SFGate, CBS News, ABC News, Le Monde, and The Hill.