11/20/2025
The news broke about an hour ago and I’m gutted, like so many others in public health, science, and medicine. Apologies in advance for some fuzzy thoughts and initial reactions. It feels like trying to give flight coordinates mid-tailspin.
The CDC website has been updated with blatant falsehoods about vaccines and autism. It pains me to share this image— but the “cross out” helped a smidge. The public needs to know what’s happening.
We knew this was coming but as my dear friend said, it’s very different to see it in black and white. It’s really real now.
I immediately climbed into bed with my kids when I saw it. I needed to be close to them and brought back down to reality because none of this feels real.
Like many of you, I have questions. What does this mean? What are the implications? Two weeks ahead of the ACIP meeting, many of us are spiraling.
But let’s all be clear about what this is: a game of political chess. And right now, they’ve cornered the queen.
To anyone confused about vaccines and autism in light of this: There is no new information here. We have studied this exhaustively for decades. Zero causal data exists linking vaccines to autism.
Scientists are parents too. If we saw safety signals, we would be the first to share them. Full stop.
This feels existential. Like a death. A loss. Our federal public health infrastructure has been compromised.
They’re wielding autism like a sword in their battle against vaccines—treating autistic people as collateral damage rather than valued members of our communities who deserve better than being used as political pawns.
What comes next? I don’t know. But I’m thinking through the implications, and they’re not good…
What happens to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program? Could parents sue if their child happens to receive an autism diagnosis after vaccination? Will vaccine manufacturers continue producing vaccines with such elevated liability exposure?
This is all by design.
They’ve cornered our queen, but this isn’t checkmate yet.
Please continue to listen to the scientific consensus not tainted by political motivations.