Overview
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated in Geneva that vaccines do not cause autism and called them among humanity’s most transformative health tools.
- The WHO Vaccine Safety Committee reviewed research from 2010 to 2025, assessing 31 studies across 11 countries and five meta-analyses.
- Twenty of the studies and the meta-analyses found no evidence of an association, while eleven papers suggesting a link showed significant methodological flaws and weak evidence.
- The CDC website now says the statement that vaccines do not cause autism is not evidence-based, a change reported to follow instructions from U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy, drawing public criticism from many American scientists.
- WHO said its conclusions align with earlier reviews from 2002, 2004 and 2021, noting the Lancet paper that seeded the myth was retracted in 2010 and emphasizing that genetics are considered the primary driver of autism.