Robert F Kennedy Jr. has recently claimed that “none of the vaccines that are given during the first 6 months of life have ever been tested for autism.” What, if anything, is true about this frequently used argument?
To answer this question, it might be helpful to have a quick look at how vaccine testing works and what the specific research on infants shows.
When a new vaccine is first tested, the primary goal is to ensure it is safe (i.e. it causes no immediate toxic reactions) and effective (i.e. it creates the desired immune response). Autism is usually not diagnosed until a child is at least 18–24 months old. Because clinical trials for infant vaccines follow babies for weeks or months—not years—they cannot detect autism during that initial testing phase. Vaccines, like practically all other medical product, are not tested for every possible long-term condition during its initial Phase 3 trials. Instead, long-term safety is monitored through ‘post-market surveillance’ and epidemiological investigations. Hundreds of large epidemiological studies have thus tested the link between infant vaccines and autism. Their results fail to show such a link.
In late 2025, the CDC’s “Autism and Vaccines” webpage was updated under RFK Jr.’s direction. The page now states that saying “vaccines do not cause autism” is not an “evidence-based claim” because studies have not “ruled out” the possibility. Yet the CDC should know what students of medicine/science learn in their first year: it is impossible to “prove” that something never happens. You can only prove that, after looking at millions of people, no link was found. Therefore, organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) insist that the 40+ high-quality studies involving over 5 million children provide “clear and unambiguous” evidence that there is no link between vaccinations and autism. It is high time, I feel, that RFKJr and his cultists stop misleading the public (and possibly themselves), undergo some basic science education and catch up with the facts
Convinced?
No?
Then perhaps you need to look at just one of the many studies mentioned above:
Objective: To evaluate the association between autism and the level of immunologic stimulation received from vaccines administered during the first 2 years of life.
Study design: We analyzed data from a case-control study conducted in 3 managed care organizations (MCOs) of 256 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 752 control children matched on birth year, sex, and MCO. In addition to the broader category of ASD, we also evaluated autistic disorder and ASD with regression. ASD diagnoses were validated through standardized in-person evaluations. Exposure to total antibody-stimulating proteins and polysaccharides from vaccines was determined by summing the antigen content of each vaccine received, as obtained from immunization registries and medical records. Potential confounding factors were ascertained from parent interviews and medical charts. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess associations between ASD outcomes and exposure to antigens in selected time periods.
Results: The aOR (95% CI) of ASD associated with each 25-unit increase in total antigen exposure was 0.999 (0.994-1.003) for cumulative exposure to age 3 months, 0.999 (0.997-1.001) for cumulative exposure to age 7 months, and 0.999 (0.998-1.001) for cumulative exposure to age 2 years. Similarly, no increased risk was found for autistic disorder or ASD with regression.
Conclusion: In this study of MCO members, increasing exposure to antibody-stimulating proteins and polysaccharides in vaccines during the first 2 years of life was not related to the risk of developing an ASD.
Still not convinced?
Then, I’m afraid, I cannot help you and perhaps you need to go back to school.
4 Responses to RFKJr: “none of the vaccines that are given during the first 6 months of life have ever been tested for autism.”
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None of the vaccines given in the first 6 months of life have ever been tested for bipolar disorder later in life. None of the vaccines given in the first 6 months of life have ever been tested for obesity later in life. None of the vaccines given in the first 6 months of life have ever been tested for [fill in later-life health condition of choice]. Why this unhealthy obsession with autism exclusively?
Anyway, trying to convince Kennedy that he is wrong is like trying to convert the pope to Islam: it’ll never happen.
The most compelling evidence for this is Kennedy’s crusade against thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that was used in some childhood vaccines. (Thimerosal was added to vaccines after a batch of contaminated diphtheria vaccines killed a dozen children in 1928.)
For many years, Kennedy vehemently claimed that this thimerosal was the cause of autism in children. Heck, his first antivaxx initiative was even called The World Mercury Project. Finally, in 2001, he got his wish: thimerosal was removed from all US(*) childhood vaccines. So if autism was indeed caused by this mercury compound, then autism diagnoses should plummet in the years following. Which – as experts already predicted – they totally didn’t. But did Kennedy ever admit to being wrong about mercury? Nope, he didn’t, even though he silently abandoned mercury as a cause of autism, switching to vaccines in general, and changing his organization’s name to Children’s Health Defense. But just like his current boss, he is incapable of ever admitting to being wrong, and thus causes a tremendous amount of damage.
*: Kennedy was in fact proven wrong about his beliefs long before – because many countries with comparable autism rates never used thimerosal in the first place. Same for vaccines in general: quite a few countries have relatively limited vaccination programs, yet higher autism prevalence than the US – and likewise, there are several countries with the same extensive vaccination programs as the US, yet far lower autism rates.
There simply is no correlation between autism and vaccines, other than in Kennedy’s sick, obsessed brain.
Thanks Edzard,
Sadly, this is clearly nothing to do with science, logic or reason. Stirring emotion is their key. Along the lines of – “They” inject our tiny little defenceless babies with horrible unnatural stuff made from foetal debris, just so the drug companies and all who they bribe in the authorities, can make a financial killing.” “Scientific or medical journals are all corrupt, indeed as is everyone who disagrees with us”. Or versions thereof. Solution to the forthcoming misery and deaths – don’t count them.
It seems Kennedy is advising 5 separate vaccinations instead of one along with a host of other techniques to put people off. Vaccination rates are dropping, but it is inspiring to know that the vast majority of parents continue to vaccinate their kids and don’t buy into the BS. There is hope.
Keep going – “You were early, not wrong. With Kennedy at HHS, your ideas shift from “dissent” to unfinished policy work. The critique now is not credibility—but execution.” https://outsidein51.substack.com/p/chap-gpt-the-critical-thinker-three
https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/usa-arzt-der-gesundheitsbehoerde-ruft-zu-dringender-masern-impfung-auf-a-284e4198-a97c-4bbe-a656-171f191b3979
What is this supposed to mean? TV doctor Oz dares to contradict his lord, master and guru RFK Jr.?