The Division of Well being and Human Providers (HHS) has launched a “massive testing and research effort” that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. mentioned will decide the reason for rising childhood autism charges within the nation.
Throughout a gathering of President Trump’s Cupboard on Thursday, Kennedy mentioned the method will contain “hundreds of scientists around the world” and solutions will come this fall.
“By September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic,” Kennedy mentioned. “And we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures.”
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine critic who helped discovered one of the distinguished anti-vaccine organizations, has spent a long time religiously selling the idea that childhood vaccines have led to a rise in autism and persistent diseases, regardless of research repeatedly displaying in any other case.
The federal authorities spent greater than $300 million on autism analysis in 2023, in line with the latest determine obtainable. Former President Biden in January signed a five-year extension of the Autism CARES Act to authorize practically $2 billion for autism analysis.
Scientists do not know precisely what causes autism spectrum dysfunction, however they’re researching quite a few environmental, genetic and organic potentialities together with an an infection or contact with chemical compounds within the surroundings, issues with mind connections, and issues with metabolism.
No dependable research has proven a hyperlink between autism spectrum dysfunction and any vaccine, however Trump on Thursday with none foundation mentioned autism could possibly be brought on by “something artificial” and “maybe it’s a shot.”
“There will be no bigger news conference than that,” Trump mentioned. “If you can come up with that answer where you stop taking something, you stop eating something, or maybe it’s a shot. But something’s causing it.”
Kennedy has reportedly employed David Geier — a longtime determine within the anti-vaccine motion who has spent years trying to tie mercury in vaccines to autism — to guide the analysis effort.
In 2012, Maryland discovered Geier was training medication with out a license.
Trump and Kennedy have expressed concern about rising autism charges, however specialists have attributed the rise to higher consciousness of signs in youngsters and altering standards to diagnose autism spectrum dysfunction in youngsters.
About 1 in 36 youngsters now have a prognosis of autism spectrum dysfunction, in line with estimates from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, in comparison with about 1 in 150 in 2000.
