This blog focuses on tobacco and cannabis and public health, so I have refrained from commenting on broader public health issues. But, I am making an exception to disseminate the National Academy of Medicine’s statement pointing of that the CDC’s November 12, 2025 update to its webpage on autism misrepresented NAM’s position on vaccines and autism.
Specifically, CDC (at the direction of HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy) revised its website to say that its previous statement that “vaccines do not cause autism” is “not an evidence-based claim.” As FactCheck.org noted, “it’s the revised website that misleads about vaccines.” As part of the justification for this change, CDC quotes a 2012 NAM (then called the Institute of Medicine) report as saying, “Key Finding: “The evidence is inadequate to accept or reject a causal relationship between diphtheria toxoid–, tetanus toxoid–, or acellular pertussis–containing vaccine and autism [emphasis added].”
Quoting incomplete snippets or taking statements out of context is a long-established technique of science deniers, including the tobacco industry. Indeed, I was was the victim of such a misrepresentation by e-cigarette advocates when Balfour et al selectively quoted the results of our meta-analysis of e-cigarettes and stopping smoking while ignoring the primary conclusion that e-cigarettes as consumer products are not associated with stopping smoking.
Hiding behind causality is another common industry tactic that is widely used by the tobacco companies, e-cig advocates and other science deniers.
It is important that such behavior be identified, called out, and the record corrected as NAM has done on vaccines and autism. In today’s world, it takes some courage to stand up to the Trump Administration. Hopefully, as more leading organizations such as NAM do so, more will follow and it will become easier to defend science and the truth.
Here is the National Academy of Medicine’s November 23, 2025 Statement on CDC’s Changes to Guidance on Vaccines and Autism in full:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week cited some of our work in new guidance related to vaccines and autism. However, the citations do not provide the greater context of the full body of work on vaccine safety that is essential for informed debate about this topic. It is important to point out that the 2012 Institute of Medicine report assessing adverse effects of vaccines and cited by the CDC, found that very few health problems are caused by or clearly associated with vaccines. Further, based on our body of work on this topic and the overwhelming scientific consensus, we support the statement that vaccines do not cause autism.
There is a substantial body of work, including expert reports from the National Academies, dating back decades analyzing data and providing guidance on the important question of childhood vaccine safety. That work has affirmed that childhood vaccines are safe for the general population with long-established benefits of preventing illness and averting death. The presidents of the National Academies have repeatedly issued statements* that call for application of scientific studies and public communications surrounding the safety and individual and public health benefits of childhood vaccination.
It is essential for the health and well-being of American families that as scientific studies provide new evidence and insights, medical guidance shared with the public must be evidence-based, clear, and complete. [emphasis added]
Marcia McNutt
President, National Academy of SciencesVictor J. Dzau
President, National Academy of MedicineNational Academies Work on Vaccines
- Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism. 2004
- Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality 2012
- The Childhood Immunization Schedule and Safety Stakeholder Concerns, Scientific Evidence, and Future Studies 2013
- Guidance on Routine Childhood immunizations 2024
- Vaccine Risk Monitoring and Evaluation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Report Release Webinar 2025
Disclosure: I am a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
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