Autism Advocates Come Out Hard Against RFK Jr.'s Latest Rhetoric
A coalition of autism advocacy groups issued a vigorous rebuke of the conspiracy theory-laden rhetoric Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been pushing about the disorder, saying his latest commentary 'undermines respect for Autistic people.'
Thursday's statement from six organizations, including the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Autism Society of America and Autism Speaks, does not mention the Health and Human Services' secretary by name, but directly references his recent comments calling autism a 'preventable disease' and an 'epidemic.'
'We are deeply concerned by growing public rhetoric and policy decisions that challenge these shared principles,' the group's statement said, noting that it's essential that policymakers recognize that vaccines do not cause autism ― two things Kennedy has repeatedly linked without any supporting evidence ― and that people with autism deserve 'respect and support.'
'Claims that Autism is 'preventable' is not supported by scientific consensus and perpetuate stigma,' the group said. 'Language framing Autism as a 'chronic disease,' a 'childhood disease' or 'epidemic' distorts public understanding and undermines respect for Autistic people.'
About a dozen more advocacy groups have endorsed the joint statement, which says they 'stand united in our call for science-based decision-making and increased investment in the research, programs and services the Autism community needs to live fully.'
Kennedy has ramped up his talk of autism in recent days, saying a week ago that'by September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic,' disregarding that the disorder, which is not considered a disease, has been heavily researched worldwide for decades.
'We've launched a massive testing and research effort that's going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world. By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we'll be able to eliminate those exposures,' he declared at a Trump Cabinet meeting.
And on Wednesday, Kennedy told reporters that 'environmental toxins' were to blame for the increase in autism rates ― something experts in the field say is actually a result of improved diagnostics, a broadened definition of the disorder and increased awareness.
'This is a preventable disease. We know that it's an environmental exposure. It has to be. Genes do not cause epidemics,' he claimed.
RFK Jr. Blames High Autism Rates On Only 1 'Preventable' Cause
RFK Jr. Says We'll Soon Know What's Fueling The Autism Epidemic. His Prediction Is Wild.
RFK Jr.'s Obsession With Autism Is A 'Dangerous' Form Of Ableism. Here's Why.
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Kennedy's new CDC panel includes members who have criticized vaccines and spread misinformation
NEW YORK -- U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight new vaccine policy advisers to replace the panel that he abruptly dismissed earlier this week. They include a scientist who researched mRNA vaccine technology and became a conservative darling for his criticisms of COVID-19 vaccines, a leading critic of pandemic-era lockdowns, and a professor of operations management. Kennedy's decision to 'retire' the previous 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was widely decried by doctors' groups and public health organizations, who feared the advisers would be replaced by a group aligned with Kennedy's desire to reassess — and possibly end — longstanding vaccination recommendations. On Tuesday, before he announced his picks, Kennedy said: 'We're going to bring great people onto the ACIP panel – not anti-vaxxers – bringing people on who are credentialed scientists.' The new appointees include Vicky Pebsworth, a regional director for the National Association of Catholic Nurses, who has been listed as a board member and volunteer director for the National Vaccine Information Center, a group that is widely considered to be a leading source of vaccine misinformation. Another is Dr. Robert Malone, the former mRNA researcher who emerged as a close adviser to Kennedy during the measles outbreak. Malone, who runs a wellness institute and a popular blog, rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as he relayed conspiracy theories around the outbreak and the vaccines that followed. He has appeared on podcasts and other conservative news outlets where he's promoted unproven and alternative treatments for measles and COVID-19. He has claimed that millions of Americans were hypnotized into taking the COVID-19 shots and has suggested that those vaccines cause a form of AIDS. He's downplayed deaths related to one of the largest measles outbreaks in the U.S. in years. Other appointees include Dr. Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist who was a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, an October 2020 letter maintaining that pandemic shutdowns were causing irreparable harm. Dr. Cody Meissner, a former ACIP member, also was named. Abram Wagner of the University of Michigan's school of public health, who investigates vaccination programs, said he's not satisfied with the composition of the committee. 'The previous ACIP was made up of technical experts who have spent their lives studying vaccines,' he said. Most people on the current list 'don't have the technical capacity that we would expect out of people who would have to make really complicated decisions involving interpreting complicated scientific data.' He said having Pebsworth on the board is 'incredibly problematic' since she is involved in an organization that 'distributes a lot of misinformation.' Kennedy made the announcement in a social media post on Wednesday. The committee, created in 1964, makes recommendations to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC directors almost always approve those recommendations on how vaccines that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration should be used. The CDC's final recommendations are widely heeded by doctors and guide vaccination programs. The other appointees are: —Dr. James Hibbeln, who formerly headed a National Institutes of Health group focused on nutritional neurosciences and who studies how nutrition affects the brain, including the potential benefits of seafood consumption during pregnancy. —Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies business issues related to supply chain, logistics, pricing optimization and health and health care management. In a 2023 video pinned to an X profile under his name, Levi called for the end of the COVID-19 vaccination program, claiming the vaccines were ineffective and dangerous despite evidence they saved millions of lives. —Dr. James Pagano, an emergency medicine physician from Los Angeles. —Dr. Michael Ross, a Virginia-based obstetrician and gynecologist. Of the eight named by Kennedy, perhaps the most experienced in vaccine policy is Meissner, an expert in pediatric infectious diseases at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, who has previously served as a member of both ACIP and the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory panel. During his five-year term as an FDA adviser, the committee was repeatedly asked to review and vote on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines that were rapidly developed to fight the pandemic. In September 2021, he joined the majority of panelists who voted against a plan from the Biden administration to offer an extra vaccine dose to all American adults. The panel instead recommended that the extra shot should be limited to seniors and those at higher risk of the disease. Ultimately, the FDA disregarded the panel's recommendation and OK'd an extra vaccine dose for all adults. In addition to serving on government panels, Meissner has helped author policy statements and vaccination schedules for the American Academy of Pediatrics. ACIP members typically serve in staggered four-year terms, although several appointments were delayed during the Biden administration before positions were filled last year. The voting members all have scientific or clinical expertise in immunization, except for one 'consumer representative' who can bring perspective on community and social facets of vaccine programs. Kennedy, a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement before becoming the U.S. government's top health official, has accused the committee of being too closely aligned with vaccine manufacturers and of rubber-stamping vaccines. ACIP policies require members to state past collaborations with vaccine companies and to recuse themselves from votes in which they had a conflict of interest, but Kennedy has dismissed those safeguards as weak. Most of the people who best understand vaccines are those who have researched them, which usually requires some degree of collaboration with the companies that develop and sell them, said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University health policy researcher. 'If you are to exclude any reputable, respected vaccine expert who has ever engaged even in a limited way with the vaccine industry, you're likely to have a very small pool of folks to draw from,' Schwartz said. The U.S. Senate confirmed Kennedy in February after he promised he would not change the vaccination schedule. But less than a week later, he vowed to investigate childhood vaccines that prevent measles, polio and other dangerous diseases. Kennedy has ignored some of the recommendations ACIP voted for in April, including the endorsement of a new combination shot that protects against five strains of meningococcal bacteria and the expansion of vaccinations against RSV. In late May, Kennedy disregarded the committee and announced the government would change the recommendation for children and pregnant women to get COVID-19 shots. On Monday, Kennedy ousted all 17 members of the ACIP, saying he would appoint a new group before the next scheduled meeting in late June. The agenda for that meeting has not yet been posted, but a recent federal notice said votes are expected on vaccinations against flu, COVID-19, HPV, RSV and meningococcal bacteria. A HHS spokesman did not respond to a question about whether there would be only eight ACIP members, or whether more will be named later. ___ ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Yahoo
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RFK Jr. includes vaccine misinformation spreaders among newly announced ACIP members
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday announced the new members of a key vaccine advisory committee, just days after he fired all sitting members in what he called 'a clean sweep.' The eight new voting members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) represent a significant downsizing from the 17 who previously served. Kennedy in a post on the social platform X said the new members will meet as scheduled on June 25 to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine. They will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well, he said. 'The slate includes highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America's most accomplished physicians. All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense,' he added. The eight new ACIP members announced by Kennedy are: Joseph R. Hibbeln, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who worked on nutritional neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Martin Kulldorff, an epidemiologist formerly at Harvard Medical School. Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. Robert W. Malone, a biochemist who took part in early research of mRNA vaccine technology. Cody Meissner, a professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College who previously served on ACIP. James Pagano, an emergency medicine physician. Vicky Pebsworth, the Pacific region director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses. She formerly sat on the Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. Michael A. Ross, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University. Kennedy on Tuesday said that none of the new ACIP members will be 'ideological anti-vaxxers,' but some of the new members are well-known COVID-19 contrarians and are known for spreading vaccine misinformation. Malone, who claims to be the inventor of mRNA vaccines despite what those who've worked with him say, became a fixture of conservative media during the pandemic. He promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin for treating the coronavirus and repeatedly claimed the COVID shots did not work. Kulldorff was one the leading authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, along with current NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya. Kennedy fired all 17 sitting members of ACIP on Monday, claiming a 'clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.' The ACIP is an independent, expert panel that provides guidance on vaccine recommendations. The sweeping, abrupt firing of all sitting ACIP members this week was met with alarm and concern, with groups like the American Nurses Association saying it could further 'erode public confidence' in vaccines. The move also directly contradicted an assurance that Kennedy had given to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, when he said he would 'maintain the [ACIP] without changes.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Kennedy names new members of CDC vaccine advisory panel days after removing previous advisers
Just two days after retiring the entirety of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed several prominent critics of the government's Covid-19 response to that committee. He announced eight new members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, on Wednesday. Kennedy had said Monday that the previous 17-member panel that makes recommendations on who should get vaccines and when was rife with conflicts of interest and that he would appoint new 'highly credentialed' experts in time for the panel's June 25 meeting, at which the members are expected to discuss guidance for Covid-19 and HPV shots, among others. In a statement Wednesday, Kennedy said the reassembled panel will demand 'definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations, but will also review data for the current vaccine schedule as well.' The eight new ACIP members include Dr. Robert Malone, a biochemist who made early innovations in the field of messenger RNA but in more recent years has been a vocal critic of mRNA technology in Covid-19 vaccines. The CDC recently narrowed its recommendations for mRNA Covid-19 shots, but some advocates in the Make America Healthy Again space have pressed Kennedy to go further and bar the vaccines entirely. Another new member is Dr. Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist who co-authored an October 2020 strategy on herd immunity known as the Great Barrington Declaration with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, now director of the US National Institutes of Health. Both Malone's and Kulldorff's names were circulated early in the second Trump administration as potential advisers on ACIP or other panels, according to a person familiar with the process who requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak with CNN. Kennedy also chose Dr. James Pagano, an emergency medicine physician he described as a 'strong advocate for evidence-based medicine' who has served on hospital committees and medical executive boards. Dr. Retsef Levi, an MIT professor who has published studies on mRNA vaccines and cardiovascular events, is also joining the panel. Levi is a professor of operations management. Several of the new members have served in federal health agencies previously, including Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a former acting chief of the NIH's section on nutritional neurosciences. Dr. Cody Meissner, a Dartmouth professor of pediatrics who also signed the Great Barrington Declaration, has previously served on ACIP and on the US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. Dr. Vicky Pebsworth, the Pacific region director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses, also served on the FDA committee and on a national panel reviewing the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Dr. Michael Ross, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, has previously served on the CDC's Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Breast and Cervical Cancer. Kennedy also nodded in his statement to Ross' 'continued service on biotech and healthcare boards.' The private equity company Havencrest, in which Ross is an operating partner, describes him on its site as a 'serial CEO' who has served on the boards of several biotechnology companies.
