The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly preparing to conduct a large-scale study examining potential links between vaccines and autism despite extensive research that has consistently found no credible evidence connecting vaccines to the condition.

Long before COVID-19, the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., gained influence through his anti-vaccine nonprofit Children’s Health Defense, spreading fear and distrust about vaccines globally. Kennedy has long promoted the debunked link between vaccines and autism.

The lawyer who assisted Kennedy has filed a petition urging the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine.

It is unclear whether Kennedy Jr. is involved in the study or how it will be structured.

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Kennedy has previously questioned the safety of the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The scientific community widely rejects his stance.

Reuters notes the claim that vaccines cause autism traces back to a 1998 study by British researcher Andrew Wakefield, which linked the MMR vaccine to rising autism diagnoses.

The study has since been discredited and retracted. Yet, the idea persists in public discourse, fueled by figures skeptical of vaccine safety.

Experts largely attribute the increased autism diagnosis rates to broader diagnostic criteria and improved screening rather than external factors like vaccines, the Reuters report added.

While the exact causes of autism remain uncertain, studies suggest neurological development in utero plays a role. Some research has pointed to maternal health factors during pregnancy, birth complications, and genetic influences as potential contributors.

No rigorous studies have established a link between autism and vaccines, vaccine ingredients such as thimerosal or formaldehyde, or common medications.

Scientists continue to investigate autism’s origins, focusing on genetic and prenatal environmental factors rather than vaccine exposure.

The World Health Organization described vaccines as "absolutely critical" to global health, adding that many people alive today would not have survived childhood without them. 

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Image via CDC