Scientific Community Affirms
"There Is No Connection"
Robert Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a believer in the 'vaccine conspiracy theory,' has sparked controversy just three weeks after taking office as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced plans to conduct a large-scale study examining the link between vaccination and autism. Although claims that vaccines can cause autism were raised over 20 years ago, the scientific and medical communities have established that there is no connection.
On March 6, 2025, Dr. Anna Montanes pointed to the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine with her finger in Lubbock, Texas, USA, where measles is spreading. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 7th (local time), Reuters reported this news, pointing out that "the CDC's move comes amid the largest measles outbreak in over a decade, with more than 200 infections and two deaths in Texas and New Mexico."
Reuters explained that the recent measles outbreak was caused by a decline in vaccination rates due to widespread unfounded 'vaccine harm theories' among parents in some areas.
Wilbur Chen, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and former CDC vaccine advisory committee member, said that the federal government conducting research suggesting a possible link between vaccines and autism itself results in public distrust of vaccines.
In the United States, measles had become rare due to high vaccination rates maintained for a time, but in recent years, the spread of 'vaccine skepticism' has led to a resurgence of cases.
There were two measles deaths in the U.S. in 2003, one in 2015, and this year, ten years later, one death occurred in Texas at the end of February and another in New Mexico in early March.
Secretary Kennedy has long advocated the claim that "vaccines cause autism" and did not retract this claim during his Senate confirmation hearing.
At the first cabinet meeting of Donald Trump's second administration held on the 26th of last month, he downplayed the situation by saying, "(Deaths from measles) are not rare."
However, neither the CDC nor HHS has disclosed whether Secretary Kennedy was involved in the decision to pursue this research plan.
Meanwhile, Dave Weldon, a former congressman and physician nominated by President Trump as CDC director, whose Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for next week, has also advocated the claim that "there is a link between vaccines and autism."
The theory that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is linked to autism was published in a 1998 paper; however, the paper was criticized for critical flaws in its analysis, and subsequent studies by other researchers have consistently concluded the opposite, solidifying the consensus that there is no connection.
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