The CDC revives debunked 'link' between childhood vaccines and autism

The CDC revives debunked 'link' between childhood vaccines and autism

Rob Stein

Pien Huang

November 20, 2025 / 9:25 am

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made a dramatic about-face in the agency's position on the relationship between vaccines and autism.

The CDC's website now says a link between vaccines and autism cannot be ruled out . That's a reversal from the CDC's longstanding stance that there is no link.

The change comes even though a connection between vaccines and autism has long been debunked by a large body of high-quality research. But Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long promoted the discredited claim .

The CDC's change is alarming public health experts. They are already worried about a drop in childhood vaccination, which has led to a