BCHC, AAP, partner orgs call for clear, evidence-driven messaging on childhood vaccines and autism

The Big Cities Health Coalition signed on to two statements calling on CDC to stop spreading false rumors about the measles vaccine and autism.

Statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, co-signed by BCHC

Our organizations, representing autistic individuals, their families, medical professionals and public health workers, are alarmed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is promoting the outdated, disproven idea that vaccines cause autism. 

Medical researchers across the globe have spent more than 25 years thoroughly studying this claim. All have come to the same conclusion: Vaccines are not linked to autism. 

This false rumor distracts from pressing, urgent issues in children’s health. Amplifying this claim and encouraging unnecessary investigations only worsens parents’ fears; it will not lead to better therapies, improved support for caregiving families, or changes in health care, education, and society in ways that would help children with autism thrive. Rather than devoting needed resources right now to support people with autism and their families in every community, our taxpayer-funded health agencies are using public resources to spread harmful rumors. Autistic people are valued members of society and, like all of us, deserve research that helps health care and other systems address genuine needs. 

Today, our organizations reject this latest attempt to create fear around routine childhood immunizations. Vaccines rank among our greatest medical success stories. Thanks to vaccines, serious diseases that once made thousands sick every year and caused life-long health issues have become rare. We cannot risk losing this progress. Together, we call on the CDC to return to its long history of promoting evidence-based information in the service of protecting the health and well-being of all Americans. 

Joint statement with the National Association of County and City Health Officials

The nation’s local health departments play a critical role in educating their community members, answering questions, and providing access to vaccines for those who choose to protect themselves and their loved ones from unnecessary illness or suffering. These critical conversations must be based on scientific evidence, which shows no causal link between vaccines and autism. Efforts to misrepresent the evidence or distort public understanding without new evidence can cause real harm and further complicate the work of local public health to keep their communities safe and secure.