The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s webpage about vaccines and autism was revised this week as an olive branch to Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who now says he supports President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency.
The page, however, still references a recently retracted study linking vaccines and autism.
The CDC changed its webpage on vaccines and autism with a new statement making clear that scientists “have not identified the root causes” of autism — a change Cassidy, who has been critical of Robert F. Kennedy’s Jr. anti-vaccine sentiments, called an act of “good faith,” The New York Times first reported.
Until that change, Cassidy was a significant holdout on the committee’s vote on Erica Schwartz, the nominee for CDC director.
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But the recent changes to the site did not include removing a reference to a 2010 study on the hepatitis B vaccine and autism rates in boys, despite its publication retracting the study in May. That study found that boys vaccinated with the hepatitis B vaccine had a significantly higher chance of being diagnosed with autism. An independent statistical reviewer found its conclusions were unsound.
The CDC web page cites the study and lists its conclusions in reference to a 2014 review conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, which it says found the study “met criteria for reliability.”
In a statement on the retraction, the study’s publisher said that an independent statistical reviewer found that the study had “fundamental methodological flaws,” including an “overstated conclusion.” The vast majority of research into the purported link between vaccines and autism has found no evidence to support such a link.
“Based on the statistical review, it was determined that this conclusion is not supported by the data,” the publisher wrote in May.
The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the web page.
With Cassidy’s support, Schwartz is expected to be confirmed by the Senate, though it’s not clear that Sean Kaufman, Trump’s pick for HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response, has the votes.
Kaufman’s past statements questioning the safety and efficacy of vaccines drew criticism from Cassidy and other senators during his hearing before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee last week.
“Why would you repeat these damn lies?” Cassidy asked Kaufman.
HELP postponed scheduled votes on both Schwartz and Kaufman’s nominations this week due to member absences. But while Schwartz’s vote was rescheduled for July 30, Kaufman’s was not, suggesting that he lacked the support needed to advance to a full Senate vote.
“There are ongoing conversations with the administration on the path forward for Mr. Kaufman’s nomination,” a spokesperson for the committee said in an emailed statement.
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