“CDC Cannot Currently Be Trusted as a Scientific Voice”

A rupture of public trust occured this week. Information on the CDC website changed overnight, without input from scientists, to espouse the anti-vaccine agenda of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Specifically, the website now says “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.” This is false. It has led trustworthy scientists to conclude and state publicly that “CDC cannot currently be trusted as a scientific voice.” Kennedy personally mandated this change.

Needless to say, it is quite a jolt to see one of the most trusted public health institutions in the world become untrustworthy. It took less than a year.

Temporary Insanity?

Senator Bill Cassidy is a physician who has seen patients die from vaccine-preventable diseases. He posted a statement on social media to express dismay:

“What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker.”

We would like to think that this situation represents a moment of temporary insanity from which we can recover. A moment when some people in positions of authority have lost sight of the sharp distinction between truth and fiction. But we cannot be certain. America’s image in the world has dropped precipitously this year to its lowest ranking ever.

Pediatrician Sean O’Leary, a professor at the University of Colorado, chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics infectious diseases committee. From his perspective, trust in the CDC will now be difficult. In a press briefing he said he has to rely on CDC for certain information and then went on to say:

“But with this change, it really is a dark day in terms of, can we trust what’s coming from the CDC anymore? I don’t know the answer to that question.”

This is a deadly serious failure of responsible government.

Click here, here, here, and here for further perspective

CDC Museum, photograph by Jim Gathany for CDC / Wikimedia Commons

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November 22, 2025