NEWS: Sanders Calls for Senate Hearing to Correct Kennedy’s Dangerous Misinformation Campaign on Autism and Vaccines

WASHINGTON, March 17 - In the aftermath of Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy's repeated and dangerous misinformation campaign inaccurately linking vaccines to autism, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) today called on Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to hold a hearing to set the record straight on autism research and clarify that vaccines are safe and effective and do not cause autism.

In his letter, Sanders quotes Cassidy about the safety of vaccines:"You have correctly said: 'I'm a doctor who has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker.' I could not agree more with that assessment. Unfortunately, Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy and many others inside the Trump Administration do not."

Since assuming office, Secretary Kennedy has waged an unprecedented war on science and vaccines that have saved millions of lives. He has directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to publish false information on its website suggesting that childhood vaccines cause autism despite the findings of more than 40 scientific studies in seven countries involving over 5.6 million people to the contrary. He has replaced the scientific experts on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with vaccine skeptics, including several who have promoted the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. And most recently, he overhauled the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), appointing 21 new non-federal members. Several of these appointees have publicly advanced false claims linking vaccines and autism.

"It is our responsibility to make sure that the American people understand the truth about vaccines and autism based on scientific evidence, not conspiracy theories. Therefore, I would like to work with you to schedule a hearing on this issue as soon as possible," Sanders continued.

In addition to Sanders, many autism scientists and advocates have also sounded the alarm about Kennedy's actions, including the Coalition of Autism Scientists, Autism Society of America, Autistic Self-Advocacy Networkand the Autism Science Foundation.

Read the letter here.

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