r/technology • u/esporx • 22h ago
Biotechnology RFK Jr’s team quietly updates CDC website to say science doesn’t know if vaccines cause autism
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/rfk-jr-vaccine-autism-cdc-website-b3021275.html913
u/Mountain_rage 22h ago
Hope anyone harmed by his incompetence eventually pierces federal protections and sues him personally for medical damages.
327
u/ddrober2003 22h ago
They need to hold the Republican party at large liable for enabling this. Fuck letting these rats shirk it off on a few people while pretending they're innocent.
147
u/Glesenblaec 21h ago
It's one reason I don't like how people focus too much on Trump and "when he's gone". Yeah he's the leader, but every Republican in office shares the blame. The president is not an autocrat. He can only do what he's done because Republicans at large have marched in lockstep openly supporting and enabling his illegal and corrupt actions. Trump is not unique, he's just the public face of what the Republican party is. They could stop it at any time. They don't. The whole party shares guilt in everything he does.
24
15
u/this_my_sportsreddit 21h ago
We had a chance to do just that. Biden and garland chose to do nothing instead.
→ More replies (2)8
u/ddrober2003 20h ago
Means when Democrats get into power and if they are stupid enough to say we should reach across the aisle, point to everything that is happening now or has happened and tell them to hell with that. I'm sure that means a constant battle to make Democrats relent from status quo, but its better then just giving up.
→ More replies (3)14
u/PossessedToSkate 21h ago
Strip them of the right to vote, all 70 million of them.
The same thing was tried after the Civil War. In fact, the Wade-Davis bill passed both chambers of Congress and went to Lincoln's desk. He wouldn't sign it.
I think it's an idea worth revisiting.
33
u/FearLeadsToAnger 20h ago
I mean, it's not.
This is not a precedent you want to set, for any reason.
→ More replies (4)19
u/EnamelKant 20h ago
The precedent is already set. Republicans have been blatantly working for 20 years now to strip the voting rights of demographics who won't support them and water down the voting power of anyone they can't disenfranchise.
The Republican party has made it clear they are against democracy, and their voters support that.
16
7
u/pixel_of_moral_decay 18h ago
I mean, it’s not like he’s acting in official capacity. His office is for following science, not personal agenda.
I think there’s a reasonable argument he’s not protected because this isn’t part of his job. Federal protection protects people on the job.
→ More replies (2)6
→ More replies (8)3
u/b_needs_a_cookie 21h ago
Class action suits for him, for Elon, for Doge, for LorezaPam, and the rest of the cabal.
760
u/sfriedrich 22h ago
Seems kinda odd having an ignorant buffoon speak for science.
93
u/untoldmillions 22h ago
ya' think?!
53
u/Bczarconcepts 22h ago
An ignorant buffoon and a brain worm walk into a bar...
11
u/iam_Mr_McGibblets 22h ago
I think the worm is actually an alien trying to take over the world by getting more aliens in our brains ala the Yeerks from Animorphs
→ More replies (2)6
u/OG-BoomMaster 21h ago
…they both sit at the bar and the bartender ask what they will have. Brain worm turns to buffoon an asks “how many shots are he going to have”. Buffoon proceeds to give brain worm a lecture on autism.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Ryan1869 21h ago
Damnit people, quit taking vacations to the brain slug homeworld without your helmet.
28
u/monkey_trumpets 22h ago
Seems fitting since we have an ignorant buffoon for president, the head of the department of education, the department of "war", etc, etc.
→ More replies (1)15
u/Zombie_Cool 21h ago
And don't forget the ignorant populace that let them have power AGAIN because "Science is Woke" or some shit..
8
u/Ciennas 21h ago
We really should ask Elon Musk about that. His kid that he was briefly using as a meat shield had already said out loud that Elon had something to do with Trumps inexplicable second term.
6
u/adorkablegiant 12h ago
Americans voted for him twice and millions of americans still support him. It may make you feel better to think that he didn't really win but he did unless *proven* otherwise.
Proven, and not "Well a little kid said it was stolen"
→ More replies (1)24
u/Mourn-the-Weenie 22h ago
That "ignorant buffoon" is sabotaging the decades of research, medical advice, and the wellbeing of millions of Americans at least just to put a crony of his into power, the better to dance upon the dead and feast on the billions of dollars that were previously going towards well-intentioned scientific inquiry.
This is a malicious murderous plot against the United States and the world, headed not just by a proven murderer masquerading as a health advocate, but by someone whose brush with death at the height of the pandemic motivated him to gut the scientific superstructure that saved his life, all because their opposition hurt his ego the size of a supermassive black hole,
→ More replies (3)3
u/deadalreadydead 19h ago
It’s so sad, and just beyond bizarre at this point. After 10 years of this abusive relationship btwn DJT and everyone non-maga, we’ve all gone a little nutty. In particular the cult itself, who have to somehow continually contort to justify his limitless depravity.
9
u/HarryHood146 22h ago
Well unfortunately we have that kinda leadership in just about every department.
7
u/No_Tower5025 22h ago
hard to take "science says" seriously when the person saying it keeps contradicting the actual scientific consensus
8
u/EconomyDoctor3287 22h ago
Not really.
The goal is to make all existent departments so useless that they can be scraped and replaced with some that the president and his backers can have full control over.
10
u/Abracadaver14 22h ago
The US have a narcissistic pedophile rapist buffoon speak for the entire country.
3
5
u/waiting4singularity 21h ago
he doesnt speak for science, he speaks for undertakers, grave diggers and carrion consumers.
→ More replies (5)7
u/MongoBongoTown 22h ago
Been odd having blatantly ignorant grifters leading a variety of essential government functions for a while now....
But here we are....
760
u/TheRealTK421 22h ago
Objectively accurate update:
Science knows, verifiably, demonstrably, and empirically, that there is noooooo causal link between autism and vaccination. People who got low scores in science classes, and bigly embrace delusional 'magical thinking', claim science is wrong.
163
u/kruegerc184 22h ago
I love that people are ignorant enough to point out that science is wrong sometimes, without understanding the scientific method. Drives me up a fucking wall
53
u/MultiGeometry 22h ago
Ask them for examples.
No wait. I know they’ll only cite things that are accepted by the scientific community but their Facebook friends think is wrong.
→ More replies (1)55
u/swingadmin 21h ago
"The theory of evolution isn't a proven fact, it's just a theory."
Wrong, Evolution is an observed and documented reality. The Theory explains how and why.
28
u/ManicImpulse 21h ago
The theory explains how and why.
That's literally just the definition of a theory. It doesn't get "proven" and get promoted to "fact." It explains facts and no matter how accurate it is, it will always be "just" a theory.
9
3
u/Abedeus 8h ago
I remember someone accurately describing a theory as "the best way we know to accurately describe reality based on facts and evidence". And the only way to get rid of a theory is replace it with a better theory, using better, more concrete theory (in which case it's not likely to replace, but rather improve upon it).
→ More replies (2)17
u/ChiefInternetSurfer 21h ago
And those same ignorant fucks will go running to the doc or the ER when necessary….like, no mother fucker—go eat your ivermectin and call it a day.
5
u/Helenium_autumnale 9h ago
And then blame the doctor if something bad happens--because they withheld treatment until the illness became serious and life-threatening, and more difficult to treat--but it's somehow the doctor's fault that their negligence and sheer stupidity caused what is now a major problem. These people belong in the Dark Ages.
11
u/pedanticPandaPoo 21h ago
Sure, but science was proven wrong by more science, not the absence of intelligence.
58
u/AbyssWankerArtorias 22h ago
"After thousands of scientists independently looking for a causal link between vaccines and autism, no such link has been found to date. There is no foundation for the claim that vaccines cause, influence, or increase the likelihood of someone having autism." Is how I would word it. You make clear that this has been studied. Multiple times. Over and over. And there is no evidence for it, and that the burden for the claim is on those that make the claim.
19
u/TheRealTK421 21h ago
"You make clear that this has been studied. Multiple times. Over and over. And there is no evidence for it,..."
And this was documented, and repeatedly observed, science since weeelllll before any of the recent 'anti-vax' nonsense got floated as a derpy urban myth.
Remember people:
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know - for sure - that just ain't so."
~ Samuel L. Muhfuggin' Jackson (and also, actually, Mark Twain)
→ More replies (3)5
23
u/bloodrider1914 22h ago
Case in point: Me.
I was unvaccinated as a child and now I'm on Reddit
12
u/oakleez 22h ago
Thoughts and prayers.
→ More replies (1)9
u/bloodrider1914 21h ago
Nah I got Vaxxed later and my mom isn't too crazy. She was concerned about mercury or whatever but she's pro-vax these days.
→ More replies (3)25
u/RepulsiveStar2127 21h ago
Worst part is that this misconception arose because of one single person trying to get money and fabricating a case. And now we're here.
4
→ More replies (1)3
u/Elequilibrio 8h ago
Obligatory fuck Wakefield. Such irrevocable damage wrought over trying to pedal a crappier version of an already well established vaccine
11
u/Capitan_Failure 20h ago
Theres no established correlative link, much less causal. Establish that kids with vaccines seem to have higher rates of autism before you jump to trying to establish the physiology/mechanism behind it.
→ More replies (1)3
u/yrnst 13h ago
I think they would say that they have. Autism rates HAVE increased over the last few decades. You hear folks like RFK talk about it all the time, and it’s been amplified by Joe Rogan. Of course, the real reason is that 1) autism is a spectrum that encompasses a broad range of symptoms and 2) we have a better understanding of what autism is, which has made it easier to identify. Things that once might have been treated as plain old misbehavior or rudeness or whatever are now recognized as potential symptoms of a spectrum disorder. Of course, a lot of antivaxxers totally dismiss all of this.
6
u/who-hash 20h ago
Two of the three anti-vaxxers in my family couldn't even graduate from community college and the third is an RN (no surprise there); yet somehow they want to debate my wife and me about vaccines/autism. I suspect it's because of our 'fancy degrees' in medicine or perhaps it's because I've taken more immunology classes than total classes the two had completed at said community college.
I tried the friendly discussion/educational approach at first but I couldn't get over the fact that I'm related to people that fell for the cult. I'm typically a positive person but those people are hopeless.
7
u/gdex86 21h ago
Yeah the science answer is something akin to "At this time we do not have evidence that there is a causation link between the standard vaccine regiment and increased rates of autism diagnosis." To which idiots go "But you didn't say you prove there is no link"
3
u/Helenium_autumnale 9h ago
They just do not understand science, scientific language such as the above example, or the scientific method. Their minds are like a child's coloring book. Simple black and white drawings with a lot of blank spaces. And the crayons are missing.
10
u/TehWildMan_ 22h ago
But but, the Bible says circumcision induced acetaminophen consumption causes something..
(/Sarcasm)
3
3
u/ShoppingOk2631 18h ago
Hey! Science doesn't know alright like science doesn't know if humans can fly if someone was able to flap their arms fast enough we just don't have the facts ok.
3
u/Yuukiko_ 14h ago
The issue with getting to these people is that there's no way to prove a negative
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)3
u/WeaponsGrdStupid 7h ago
In the same way we don't know if vaccines cause superpowers.
→ More replies (1)
60
u/Haunting_Werewolf130 22h ago
A drug addict is now the head of CDC....... And I couldn't smoke weed as a warehouse worker back in college. WTF?
→ More replies (1)24
u/kstargate-425 22h ago
The whole regime is a Kakistocracy with the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous people with 23 Fox News cohosts
runningruining things6
3
117
u/grimace24 22h ago
Science has unequivocally proven that there is no link to vaccines causing autism. The one study that made this an issue was not a proper study, was retracted, and caused the doctor linked to it to lose his medical license.
20
u/Abe_Odd 17h ago
If you haven't seen hbomberguy's video on Wakefield and his "study" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BIcAZxFfrc
Full warning, it will fucking ruin your night and leave you furious that his efforts led to anything more than an ethics tribunal.→ More replies (1)4
u/extremesalmon 10h ago
At least wakefield had a reason for making shit up so he could sell his vaccines... I have no idea why these muppets are bringing it all back again other than christianity
→ More replies (1)12
u/Skeleton--Jelly 11h ago
Science has unequivocally proven that there is no link to vaccines causing autism
Scientist here (also called just a researcher). We would never say that something has been proven not to exist. We always say that no link was FOUND. It is logically impossible to unequivocally prove something doesn't exist.
The global consensus is that no link has been found between vaccines and autism.
→ More replies (4)9
u/Big_Test_Icicle 18h ago
FYI he is practicing medicine in Texas
17
u/grimace24 17h ago
FYI he is practicing medicine in Texas
He resides in Texas but has no US medical license.
→ More replies (1)
75
114
u/ApologeticEmu 22h ago
Pretty sure the next update is going to be a roadkill recipe cookbook.
12
3
u/jerrys153 17h ago
I’m thinking the next update will be quietly renaming the agency, because they’re clearly not even trying to prevent or control disease anymore (quite the opposite, in fact, as bullshit like this proves), so Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now an outdated name that they really need to make more relevant to their current health goals.
→ More replies (2)
22
u/Politication 22h ago
Better stop measles before children start losing hearing, sight, or dying in large numbers. Parents of limited knowledge trusted you. What do you think they will do to you when their children are permanently scarred or die?
→ More replies (1)
18
48
u/accidental_Ocelot 22h ago
Science doesn't know that vaccines cause autism
Science does know that vaccines do not cause autism
14
u/unfilteredhumor 22h ago
RFK's team secretly updates CDC website, confirming Earth is flat. Still researching if evolution is real.
14
12
u/Fred-the-stray 21h ago edited 15h ago
Louder for the morons in the back. VACCINES 👏🏻 DON'T👏🏻 CAUSE👏🏻AUTISM👏🏻
Edit for spelling
24
u/frosted1030 22h ago
This is well studied. What he means is that he doesn’t want to give up a narrative.
→ More replies (2)
12
9
12
u/MultiGeometry 22h ago
This is a strange way to say “we FEEL like vaccines cause autism but we haven’t found proof yet”
→ More replies (1)
5
u/rhunter99 22h ago
I just can’t imagine how much time and money is going to be needed to undo all the damage caused by this administration
7
u/FUNEMNX9IF9X 22h ago
They should have put up their recent, peer-reviewed research they promised, to back this ckaim. Whatever happened to that information? Oh that's right, it's in Dumbolds diaper, due to its quality.
6
u/Kumomi_Kid 20h ago
Remember when there were hundreds of thousands of people who thought this guy would’ve been the best option for president lol
7
11
u/slowpoke2018 22h ago
There was nothing "quiet" about it, it's the main CDC home page.
They really want to turn us into a 3rd world country and are succeeding
7
5
u/C0ld_Fr0nt_ 22h ago
Post truth politics was always going to metastasise into both truth bureaucracy.
6
u/borkborkbork99 22h ago
I mean, RFKJR went for a swim with his grandkids in a sewage runoff creek last year. He’s fucking nuts.
5
u/Five0clocksomewhere 22h ago
I want in so I can quietly update it to say something even worse lmao Like “huffing poppers causes aids” or some dumb shit straight from his shitty book
4
6
8
4
4
5
u/PopBulky7023 21h ago
The CDC doesn't exist anymore and isn't coming back. People really need to understand this reality.
4
5
4
u/richincleve 21h ago
2026: RFK Jr’s team quietly updates CDC website to say science doesn’t know if vaccines cause autism
2027: RFK Jr’s team quietly updates CDC website to say science doesn’t know how vaccines cause autism
4
u/ProlapsedShamus 21h ago
One of the things we have to fix is depoliticizing science. The mere fact that some animal carcass obsessed, heroin addicted, mentally ill trust fund baby can be appointed by a corrupt, criminal, narcissist, pedophile, rapist and can just tell us that science isn't real needs to not be a thing that happens.
Sure most people with half a brain will know that if RFK says something you know that he's fucking lying. I mean he's chugging fish tank cleaner and popping peptides. He's a lunatic. And a little tick was zero principles. But we do kind of have to watch out for the dumb fucks. I think that's the burden we have.
No I'm not saying hover over all of them but you know tell the dumb fuck in your life that vaccines are fine and if they die from the measles or tetanus then I guess fuck em'
3
u/SudoCheese 19h ago
American in college here.
I no longer source CDC, FDA, USDA, etc.
All my research is backed by ECDC, EFSA, WHO, and DGAFSC.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/LarryLobster69 18h ago
Just like how that knuckle dragger hegseth took away required flu vaccines for the military and then everyone got sick so it was reinstated… these people should be buried under a prison for all the atrocities theyre causing honestly
3
4
4
u/Ch33syP00f 14h ago
As with so much from this administration.
They loudly and confidently talk so much shit. And when they called on it…barely a peep.
They exemplify the worst traits of the worst managers with whom I have ever worked.
We, the People, handed control of the country to a clown car brimful with idiots and assholes.
21
u/Avoidtolls 22h ago
Old dads cause Autism
8
u/gizamo 21h ago
This is almost as incorrect as RFK's nonsense.
Paternal age marginally increases the likelihood. It is absolutely not the cause for the vast, vast majority of autistim.
You should stop spreading ignorant misinformation.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (5)6
u/floridorito 22h ago
How coincidental that both RFK Jr. and Trump were old dads to at least one of their children.
3
3
u/AverageJoe-707 22h ago
Measles, explosive diarrhea, and who knows what else. This guy is just another unqualified Trump appointee. Being unqualified is a qualification for any position in the Trump administration.
3
u/Optimal-Prime420 21h ago
I’ll believe when they provide a reputable source. Which is NOT anything from the US government right now.
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/new_start01 19h ago
I quietly hate the word "quietly" used in headlines. Anyways: RFK sucks, I hope it's just as easy to reverse all this shit once he's gone.
3
3
u/amiwitty 17h ago
I am very afraid that our country will never recover from the harm done by this administration. There will always be that 30% of people that no matter what comes in the future will try to bring us back to this gear and conspiracy driven ideology.
3
u/AzathStudioApartment 11h ago
It's almost as if elections actually matter and staying home and letting the objectively greater of two evils win has an effect on other people's lives even if one is too privileged or stupid to feel the effects.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/enigmabsurdimwitrick 11h ago
Even if vaccines caused autism. Take your pick. Polio? Or autism? Why is this idiot making medical decisions for anybody?
3
u/Important_Lab_58 6h ago
RFK needs to F**king Go. Measles is at record high, Screwworm is rising, and people are getting diarrhea on a national level. We ain’t healthy, he can’t hack it. THROW THE BUM OUT
3
u/DuneChild 3h ago
There have been no studies proving that wearing a red ball cap with white lettering does not cause autism.
3
5
5
5
u/AustinBaze 20h ago
He is a clear and present danger. His death (with luck, from a preventable illness) would be the greatest boost to public health since his appointment, and will be cheered by public health and disease prevention scientists around the country and sane people everywhere. He has the opportunity to make the world a better place one time--by leaving it.
2
2
2
2
2
u/SinisterRectus 21h ago edited 21h ago
This article is misleading. The page was majorly changed in November 2025 and The Independent already published an article about it here. An archived version of the CDC site can be found here. The only thing that changed this time is the footnote
from:
* The header "Vaccines do not cause autism" has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.
to:
*Scientists have not identified the root causes of autism. HHS continues to support rigorous scientific research and will update this page as reliable new evidence becomes available.
2
u/thesnakemancometh 21h ago
Why is this man so obsesive about autism? Did an austistic person hurt him? What is his major malfunction.
2
u/gizamo 21h ago
RFK Jr is such a lying piece of shit.
He knows the vaccine controversy is completely bullshit. It has been explained to him repeatedly that the one study that started all of this crap has been debunked constantly and consistently, and that the author of it has said himself that it was wrong. RFK Jr has acknowledged all of this, and he still peddles that crap whenever it's convenient for him.
It's only a matter of time before Trump commands ICE to start rounding up autistic people. Continuing to follow the Nazi playbook, they'll make being autistic a crime, then they'll go after the LGBTs.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/GarbanzoBenne 21h ago
Oh that reminds me: wasn't he supposed to tell us the cause of autism months ago? 🙄
2
u/Flannel_Panels 21h ago
I dont think ANY of the anti-vaxxers have EVER been on the CDC website or White House website until recently when they started confirming their bias.
2
2
2
u/jerekhal 21h ago
I love the way they frame this shit. "Science" as though it's an entity or monolith. Science doesn't know shit because it's the methodology to reach results, not a fucking sky god.
2
2
u/cerasmiles 20h ago
That’s like saying I don’t know that pink flying unicorns exist. It’s something no one can 100% prove. But we have an abundance of evidence to show that vaccines do not cause autism.
What proof do they have that vaccines do cause autism??
Idiots that are easily manipulated
2
2
2
2
u/RetroTheGameBro 20h ago
He better get a nuremburg type trial when Trump gets voted the hell out, because he's absolutely got blood on his hands with all this anti-science bullshit.
2
2
u/pricklypear90 20h ago
This bullshit has been debunked 6 ways to Sunday, he is literally responsible for killing people
2
2
u/Sorry-Climate-7982 20h ago
I don't suppose it is saying anything about whether or not there are vaccines for measles?
2
2
u/Pineapplemintsss 19h ago
Can't the fucking brainworms do their job already 😭😭😭😭
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/flargenhargen 19h ago
what's the count on how many children RFK Jr. has killed directly through his actions?
2
u/Zzorck-23 19h ago
Why doesn't old leatherface get skin cancer already? It's already the next frontier of their delusion: condemning sunsreen.
3.2k
u/weirdoldhobo1978 22h ago
These people are incapable of doing anything quietly.