“If you go back 25 years ago,” President-elect Donald Trump claimed in an interview over the weekend, “you had very little autism. Now you have it.”
Thus Trump pushed open the door to the idea that autism may be linked to vaccines, an assertion that has been made frequently by his nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The linking of the two — vaccines and autism — in the public consciousness is a perilous piece of misinformation that health officials have worked tirelessly to discredit. They fear that its adoption of this idea — or even merely rising vaccine doubt caused by the suggestion of its legitimacy — could disrupt the worldwide success of vaccination programs, a health initiative that has been responsible for raising life expectancy everywhere on earth.
Presented with information that contradicts Kennedy’s suspicions, Trump nevertheless indicated that he would defer to his nominee on the issue, saying “somebody has to find out [if the two are linked].”
Present research — the “finding out” — indicates there is no link, though work will continue to be done to seek out any evidence that may exist. Health officials worry most not about a cancellation of vaccine programs, but about the damage that can be done by the perception of the link being promoted by Kennedy.
Even if no policy change is enacted against vaccines, a widespread reluctance to adopt the vaccines could be disastrous — a microcosm of which can be seen in Hasidic communities where measles, nearly eradicated elsewhere, has surged among the voluntarily unvaccinated.
Health experts are concerned that the HHS Secretary suggesting that people should be reluctant to receive vaccines could reverse decades of progress against the world’s least merciful diseases.
Trump’s willingness to entertain Kennedy’s unfounded theories about vaccines and autism was a terrifying moment for many health experts, as it augured an uncertain future where ignoring data and seeding doubt will endanger society.
If one of America’s adversaries was preparing a biological attack that could cause medieval levels of childhood mortality and disease in our country, we would treat it as an act of war.
Yet the Trump administration is preparing just such an unconscionable attack on our children. https://t.co/KeDIWny8oF
— Dylan Williams (@dylanotes) December 8, 2024
“If one of America’s adversaries was preparing a biological attack that could cause medieval levels of childhood mortality and disease in our country, we would treat it as an act of war. Yet the Trump administration is preparing just such an unconscionable attack on our children,” wrote Dylan Williams, Vice President for Government Affairs at the Center for International Policy, in response.
Dr. Neil Stone, an infectious disease expert commenting on Trump’s openness to further investigation of a potential link, tried to loudly slam shut the door Trump pushed open, writing:
“Vaccines don’t cause autism. It doesn’t need ‘looking at’ because it has been…repeatedly…many times by many people and the answer is crystal clear. Vaccines do not cause autism. Dragging up this debunked theory is a waste of time, money and energy.”
Many RFK-styled skeptics responded to Stone with vehement declarations about drug company malfeasance and greed driving the vaccine efforts, essentially ignoring the vast successes of vaccines, the results of which are demonstrable.
One of the more even-tempered responses to Stone’s assertion blanketly denying any link between autism and vaccines is below, where a commenter says it’s reasonable to keep looking, citing a goal of putting “concern to rest.”
It is a high-minded notion, though anyone reading the other comments will recognize that no amount of research will put the “concern to rest” for those — perhaps including RFK Jr. — who won’t be persuaded.
You know what, Neil? There are A LOT of things that are a waste of energy. Doing anything we can with the intelligent and capable people of America to put this concern to rest for our future generations isn’t one of them.
Protecting children isn’t ever a waste of time.
— Neil Alber (@ThisIsJustSmoke) December 9, 2024
