US centers for disease control and prevention are planning a major study of potential links between vaccines and autism, two sources known to the issue said Reuters, despite the extensive research they have distributed or failed to find evidence of such connections.
It is unclear whether US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long promoted anti-vaccine views, is involved in the planned CDC study or how it would be carried out. The CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services were not immediately available for comment.
The CDC mass comes in the middle of one of the largest outbursts of measles the US has seen in the last decade, with more than 150 cases and two deaths in Texas and New Mexico.
The spread has been driven by the decline in vaccination levels in parts of the United States where parents have falsely convinced that such shots do more harm than good.
Kennedy, whose role includes CDC authority, has long sowed suspicion of the safety of the combined vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). At a cabinet meeting last week, Kennedy initially minimized news that a school -aged child had died from measles to Texas, such death in a decade, calling such ordinary explosions and not mentioning the role of vaccination to prevent measles.
During the weekend, Kennedy posted part of the Fox News thought that promoted the vaccination role, but also told the parents vaccination was a personal choice and called on them to consult with their doctor.
Kennedy did not immediately respond to a comment request.
Autism diagnoses in the United States have increased significantly since 2000, intensifying public concern.
Many researchers attribute the increase in diagnoses to more widespread examination and the inclusion of a wider range of behaviors to describe the condition. But some public figures have popularized the idea that vaccines have been blamed, an idea that stems from a study from the British researcher Andrew Wakefield in the late 1990s that linked an increase in autism with widespread use of MMR.
The causes of autism are unclear. No rigorous study has found links between autism and vaccines or medicines, or their ingredients such as thimerosal or formaldehyde.
There are widespread speculation among scientists that its neurological characteristics can develop in the womb when the fetus brain is tel. Studies have linked autism to maternal factors in pregnancy, and some research suggests a link to complications and birth time.
President Donald Trump, in a speech at Congress this week, mentioned the increase in autism among children. “So we will find out what it is, and no one is better than Bobby and all the people who are working with you,” Trump said, referring to Kennedy.
Pictures against the Kennedy vaccine have attracted the concern among some Republicans. During Kennedy’s confirmation hearing, Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican and Luiziana physician, suggested that the nominee did not remove any link between vaccines and autism.
Kennedy denied that he was against the vaccine, but did not admit that such a connection had been debut.
This week Cassidy questioned Trump’s nominee to lead the National Institute of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, for his attitude to investigate a possible link between autism and childhood vaccinations.
“I generally do not believe there is a connection, based on my reading of literature,” Bhattacharya said. “But we have a sharp increase in autism levels, and I don’t think any scientist really knows its cause. I would support a wide scientific agenda based on data to get an answer for it.”
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