FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDoctors for AmericaPO Box: 211612300 18th St NW LbbyWashington, DC 20009-9996November 21, 2025

Doctors for America Calls on the CDC and HHS to Reinstate Evidence-Based Content on the Vaccines and Autism Webpage

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Doctors for America opposes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) November 19, 2025 update to its “Vaccines and Autism” website to now promote misleading rhetoric and outright misinformation. Decades of rigorous scientific research have shown that vaccination does not cause autism. This conclusion has been overwhelmingly supported by every major medical and scientific organization, as well as numerous prominent autism advocacy groups. Removing evidence-based content – especially in the absence of new scientific evidence or rationale – is dangerous and harmful. Patients, their families, and the public deserve better; they deserve health information that is guided by science, not politics. The arguments presented on the updated webpage demonstrate an intentional misrepresentation of basic scientific inquiry and seek to sow distrust in health authorities. The CDC website states health authorities have “ignored” studies supporting a link, which is categorically inaccurate. The scientific community – including physicians and public health experts – have analyzed these studies by critically reviewing the methods, study designs, and reported findings. Rigorous review of totality of evidence by scientific experts is the foundation of the scientific process and conclusions are based on repeated findings across high quality studies. The updated page presents misleading claims. In particular, it suggests that rising autism diagnoses correlate with an expanding childhood immunization schedule, without addressing the fact that the diagnostic criteria for autism have changed substantially since the 1980s, and that universal pediatric screening was instituted during this time. Moreover, the CDC’s own messaging contradicts itself. For example, in the “State of the Evidence” Section, the “Vaccines and Autism” page advocates for further investigation into aluminum-containing vaccines, despite another CDC vaccine safety page clearly stating that “aluminum salts have been used safely in vaccines for more than 70 years.” Adjuvants and Vaccines | Vaccine Safety | CDCWe echo our colleagues across medical and professional societies in raising alarm about the harm that this update will cause and re-affirming that vaccines do not cause autism. Misinformation is rampant in the United States and vaccine-preventable diseases are on the rise. This dangerous misuse of the CDC’s authority destroys a reputation earned through 79 years of integrity, transparency, and scientific accountability, threatening the trustworthiness of all CDC public health recommendations. Doctors for America calls on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the CDC to remove the harmful, false rhetoric from its “Vaccines and Autism” website and replace it with the previous summary of the copious evidence debunking any link between vaccination and autism. People living with autism are valued members of our society who deserve research and health policies that are based in science and support their health and wellbeing.

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About Doctors for AmericaDoctors for America (DFA) is a national nonprofit that mobilizes over 40,000 physicians and medical trainees to advocate for policies that improve the health of patients and communities. Through advocacy training and action at the state and federal levels, DFA works to expand access to affordable care, strengthen community health and prevention efforts, and advance health justice and equity. We do not accept funding from pharmaceutical, insurance, or for-profit health care entities, ensuring our work remains fiercely independent and patient-centered. DFA puts patients over politics—and over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on Twitter drsforamerica or Bluesky drsforamerica.bsky.social.