The administration of Donald Trump is actively considering the possibility of issuing an executive order on vaccines and autism as early as next week, according to sources familiar with the situation. The final content of the document has not yet been approved, and the timing of its signing may change. Meanwhile, scientific research has not found a link between childhood vaccination and autism, and decades of research have not established a single cause for the development of this disorder.
Donald Trump stated that “America should have the best childhood vaccination schedule in the world.” According to White House spokesman Kush Desai, the administration seeks to implement this priority based on “gold standard science” to address parents’ questions and concerns about vaccination.
Previously, Trump repeatedly advocated for reducing the number of vaccines recommended for children. In May, he signed an executive order aimed at bringing the vaccination schedule in the USA closer to the practices of countries where fewer immunizations are recommended. Meanwhile, the court blocked a number of other administration initiatives in the healthcare sector.
The emergence of the decree on vaccines and autism will again draw attention to a topic that officials had previously tried not to emphasize ahead of the midterm elections. An internal memo prepared earlier this year recommended that officials focus on less controversial issues, including dietary recommendations and the cost of medical care.
Administration actions and scientific research
Last week, Trump publicly called on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who previously held a leadership position in one of the well-known anti-vaccine organizations, to intensify the search for the causes of autism. During a government meeting at Camp David, the president inquired about the progress of the research, to which Kennedy replied: “We will give you an answer.”
The possible decree will be another step in a series of initiatives by Trump and Kennedy aimed at studying the causes of autism. In September, administration representatives linked the use of Tylenol during pregnancy to autism and announced the possibility of using an old drug to treat certain patients. Meanwhile, further actions by regulators turned out to be much more restrained than announced.
Statements regarding Tylenol were criticized by medical organizations. Additionally, they contradicted information on the FDA website, which states that there is no convincing evidence of a link between the use of the drug during pregnancy and adverse effects on the child.
Disputes surrounding autism research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced in September a research program worth 50 million dollars dedicated to studying the causes of autism spectrum disorders. Meanwhile, none of the approved research projects involve studying vaccines as a possible cause of autism. Instead, researchers are analyzing genetic, environmental, and medical factors, as well as the impact of changes in diagnosis on the increase in the number of established diagnoses. The expert community generally positively assessed this initiative.
Certain formulations on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dedicated to the relationship between vaccines and autism have become the subject of disputes involving Republican Senator from Louisiana Bill Cassidy, who heads the Senate Health Committee. Cassidy demanded a review of the page’s content in exchange for supporting the Trump administration’s candidates. During Kennedy‘s tenure, the text on the website was changed: it was noted that scientific research has not excluded the possibility of a link between infant vaccination and autism, and an asterisk was added to the phrase “vaccines do not cause autism.”
Source: Bloomberg
