CDC: The claim “vaccines do not cause autism” is not evidence-based!

Two days ago, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) published an announcement; here are its ‘key points’:

• The claim “vaccines do not cause autism” is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.
• Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.
• HHS has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.

In the announcement proper, they make the following argument:

The rise in autism prevalence since the 1980s correlates with the rise in the number of vaccines given to infants. Though the cause of autism is likely to be multi-factorial, the scientific foundation to rule out one potential contributor entirely has not been established. For example, one study found that aluminum adjuvants in vaccines had the highest statistical correlation with the rise in autism prevalence among numerous suspected environmental causes…

I am concerned with all the many other relationships that have not been adequately investigated, presumably because of powerful interests from influential organisations. Here are just three examples.:

• It is well known that the consumption of ice cream correlates with death from drowning. How many people have to die until the government finally stops the BIG ICE CREAM lobby?
• Similarly, it is a fact that the more margarine is consumed, the higher the divorce rate in Maine. How many marriages will have to break up, until BIG MARGERINE is finally stopped?
• Finally, it is well known that the rate of chocolate consumption correlates within a country with the number of Nobel Prizes that country is awarded. How long do we have to wait until chocolate consumption becomes mandatory to boost the cognitive function of our children?

I am convinced that these three examples – there are plenty more, if you only do your research as well as RFKJr clearly does – are at least as important and just as plausible as the one currently tackled by the CDC. Therefore I urge the CDC to speed up their research and go after all the red herrings they can possibly find.

PS

In my experience, there are some readers who are intellectually too limited to identify satire. Let me therefore make it clear that THIS POST IS SATIRE!

PPS

There has been wide-spread condemnation of the CDC announcement, e.g.:

• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): The president of the AAP called the change “false information” and asserted that the updated page was promoting a harmful myth. The organization emphasized that over 40 high-quality studies involving more than 5.6 million people have clearly and unambiguously concluded that there is no link between vaccines and autism.
• Scientific Integrity and Public Trust: Public health experts and former CDC officials argued that the revision was “reckless and harmful,” had “no scientific rationale,” and was driven by “politics” rather than science. They warned that the move would sow doubt in routine childhood immunizations and undermine public trust in the CDC as a credible scientific voice.
• Lack of Scientific Review: Critics noted that the updated content did not cite any new research and appeared to have been implemented without the normal scientific clearance process involving career scientists at the CDC.