‘Uncompromising and Relentless’: HHS to Study All Possible Causes of Autism, Including Vaccines
The unthinkable is happening.
This article originally appeared on The Defender and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.
The FDA will also immediately add warnings to Tylenol and other products that contain acetaminophen, warning pregnant women of a possible link between acetaminophen and autism, and will also advise physicians about the risks. The agency is also set to approve leucovorin, a medication commonly used to treat cancer, as an autism treatment.
U.S. public health agencies are collaborating on extensive studies that will examine all the possible causes of autism, including vaccines, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump and several public health officials announced today during a White House event.
Donald Trump’s Vaccine Statements Shock the World
HHS (under Trump and RFK Jr.) announced Monday that Tylenol use during pregnancy is associated with a “very increased risk of autism.”
According to today’s announcement, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will also immediately add warnings to Tylenol and other products that contain acetaminophen, warning pregnant women of a possible link between acetaminophen and autism, and will also advise physicians and the public about the risks.
The FDA is also set to approve leucovorin, a medication commonly used in cancer treatments to counter the harmful side effects of other drugs, as a treatment for symptoms associated with autism, based on promising results in clinical studies among children with folate deficiency.
During today’s announcement, Kennedy emphasized the potential role of vaccines in causing autism. He said:
“One area that we are closely examining … is vaccines. Some 70% of mothers who have children with autism believe that their child was injured by a vaccine. President Trump believes that we should be listening to these mothers instead of gaslighting and marginalizing them like prior administrations.
“It will take time for an honest look at this topic by scientists, but I want to reassure the people in the autism community that we will be uncompromising and relentless in our search for answers. We will perform the studies that should have been performed 25 years ago. Whatever the answer is, we will tell you what we find.”
Noting that he’s “been waiting for this meeting for 20 years,” Trump suggested during today’s announcement that vaccines, and the childhood vaccination schedule, have contributed to autism and to the onset of chronic disease in children.
Trump cited data showing a rapid increase in autism diagnoses in recent years.
“Since 2000, autism rates have surged by much more than 400%,” he said. “Instead of attacking those who ask questions, everyone should be grateful for those who are trying to get the answers to this complex situation.”
Trump also suggested that vaccines are contributing to the onset of autism. He said:
“They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies. It’s a disgrace. I don’t see it. … You have a little child, little fragile child, and you get a vat of 80 different vaccines, I guess 80 different blends, and they pump it in. …
“I think I can say that there are certain groups of people that don’t take vaccines and don’t take any pills that have no autism.”
Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed new data showing that an estimated 1 in 31 (3.22%) 8-year-old children had an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis in 2022 — up from 1 in 36 (2.8%) in 2020 and 1 in 1,000 children in the 1990s.
Mary Holland, CEO of Children’s Health Defense, welcomed today’s announcement, which she said is “the first time our public health officials have directly addressed the autism epidemic and promised to end the gaslighting of the 40-70% of mothers who report that their children regressed into autism after being vaccinated.”
She added:
“This is also the first time our public health agencies have introduced a treatment program that may help the millions of children who already suffer with this condition, and a commitment to identify all the potential causes — including vaccines — to help prevent future cases of autism and end this catastrophic epidemic that afflicts 1 in 31 children.
“This is clearly just the beginning, not the end — and in that context, today’s announcements are historic.”
John Gilmore, executive director of the Autism Action Network, said today’s announcement is significant because it “has shattered two of the cardinal taboos about autism causation.” He said:
“First, that [autism] has an environmental cause. Official science has looked almost exclusively for genetic causes for autism, even though no single gene or combination of genes has ever been shown to be statistically significant — but that’s all we have done for more than 20 years. And when there is an environmental cause, somebody is responsible for putting that thing in the environment.
“Second, pregnant women were taking Tylenol on the advice of their physicians, and probably ignoring the advice of their grandmothers. That means this is an iatrogenic cause of autism, and it is highly unlikely to be the only one.”
Shares of Tylenol tank on news that FDA will require warning label
The Post reported Sunday that federal health officials have been reviewing recent research, including a review by Mount Sinai and Harvard researchers, identifying a possible link between Tylenol use early in pregnancy and an increased risk of autism in children.
Kennedy said that scientists have identified “biological mechanisms linking prenatal acetaminophen exposure to altered brain development” and will continue research that examines potential links between the medication and childhood health harms. He said:
“The safety of acetaminophen against the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in young children has never been validated. … Some studies have also found the use of acetaminophen in children can potentially prolong viral illnesses.
“FDA will drive new research to safeguard mothers, children and families, in addition to a possible acetaminophen connection to autism for pregnant women, infants and toddlers.”
Acetaminophen has previously been linked to liver toxicity and permanent cognitive impairment. However, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continues to state that Tylenol is safe for pregnant women.
Shares of Kenvue Inc., manufacturer of Tylenol, were down nearly 7.5% as of press time. The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 12 that Kenvue CEO Kirk Perry lobbied Kennedy not to cite Tylenol as a cause of autism.
Today’s announcement also included the news that the launch of the Autism Data Science Initiative by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is underway. The Post reported on Sunday that the initiative will involve 13 teams of researchers, who have received federal grants to study autism’s causes.
According to the Post, that effort “is separate from a broader NIH report investigating autism research, which is not expected this week.”
Kennedy announced in April that the public health agencies had launched a “massive testing and research effort” to determine what causes autism, involving hundreds of scientists globally.
During a Cabinet meeting last month, Kennedy told Trump that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was on track to announce the findings of an ongoing study on the causes of autism in September.
Reuters reported earlier this month that researchers have submitted more than 100 proposals to participate in the Trump administration’s study into possible causes of autism.
Watch the announcement here:
Related articles in The Defender
HHS Will Link Autism to Tylenol Use During Pregnancy, Wall Street Journal Reports
‘Parents Have Waited for 30 Years’: NIH to Study Causes of Autism
CDC Will Study Possible Link Between Vaccines and Autism, Pledges to ‘Leave No Stone Unturned’
Thimerosal in Vaccines May Contribute to Autism Severity, New Analysis Shows
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