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Donald Trump has been supporting the unfounded claim that there is a connection between vaccines and autism for over ten years. He recently stated that he is willing to consider all options in order to address the increasing number of autism cases in the country.
Written by Sheryl Gay Stolberg
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Donald J. Trump, the incoming president, has been advocating the unproven idea that vaccines are linked to autism for over ten years. He mentioned on Sunday that his nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would investigate this issue.
During an interview on NBC’s "Meet The Press," Mr. Trump expressed the opinion that someone needs to investigate the issue of autism, which was raised by the interviewer Kristen Welker in a discussion about Mr. Kennedy’s doubts regarding vaccines.
Donald Trump mentioned that there has been an increase in autism cases in the United States over the past few decades. He expressed his willingness to consider any possible solutions when asked if Robert Kennedy would investigate the issue.
He expressed uncertainty about the cause, mentioning that there is definitely a situation unfolding. He suggested that it could be related to vaccines or possibly the presence of chlorine in the water. Various factors are being considered by people to understand what is happening.
The number of autism diagnoses has been on the rise in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that currently, about one in 36 American children have been diagnosed with autism, compared to one in 150 in 2000. This increase is believed to be due to increased awareness and better identification of children showing a range of symptoms that fall under the category of "autism spectrum disorder."
In 1998, a British researcher published a study claiming a connection between vaccines and autism. However, this study has been withdrawn and the researcher has lost his medical license.
Research has consistently shown that there is no connection between vaccines and autism, including a review on vaccine safety conducted by the Institute of Medicine in 2012, now called the National Academy of Medicine, which stated that the M.M.R. vaccine does not cause autism. A study in Denmark in 2019 also reached the same conclusion. Despite this, as recently as August, Mr. Kennedy claimed in an interview with the libertarian commentator John Stossel that vaccines cause autism.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports on health policy for The Times in Washington. With experience as a correspondent in Congress and the White House, she examines how health policy and politics intersect. Learn more about Sheryl Gay Stolberg.
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