FRIDAY, April 11, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will launch a “massive testing and research effort” to explore the causes of autism, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday.
Kennedy, a longtime critic of vaccines, shared the plan with President Donald Trump during a televised Cabinet meeting, The Associated Press reported.
He said hundreds of scientists would take part in the effort, which aims to be completed by September.
“There’s got to be something artificial out there that’s doing this,” Trump told Kennedy. “If you can come up with that answer, where you stop taking something, eating something, or maybe it’s a shot. But something’s causing it.”
Decades of scientific research have shown no link between vaccines and autism. Major health groups, including Autism Speaks, agree that childhood vaccines do not cause autism.
Autism is a developmental condition that can cause problems with language, learning and social skills.
Studies show that genetics play a large role in autism. Possible risk factors include air pollution, pesticide exposure, low birth weight or parents who are older, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The NIH already spends more than $300 million each year studying autism. It’s not clear how Kennedy’s new study will differ, and HHS has not released further details, The Associated Press said.
Many advocates have expressed concerns.
Kristyn Roth, a spokeswoman for the Autism Society of America, said the group was not included in any type of planning.
“There is a deep concern that we are going backward and evaluating debunked theories,” Roth told The Associated Press.
The anti-vaccine theory dates to a 1998 study that was later retracted. Many large studies since then have shown that children who are vaccinated are not more likely to have autism than those who are unvaccinated.
Kennedy has hired orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Geier to lead the project. Geier has long claimed a link between vaccines and autism.
In 2011, Maryland officials found he was practicing medicine without a license.
Despite the backlash, Kennedy and Trump have both said they are worried about the rising number of autism diagnoses. Experts say part of the increase owes to better screening.
What’s more, cases are also now diagnosed at earlier ages and among more diverse groups of children.
More information
Autism Speaks has more on autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
SOURCE: The Associated Press, April 10, 2025
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