NBC NEWS – For decades, the scientific community has worked to dispel a thoroughly debunked theory that vaccines cause autism and finally shift its focus to find true potential causes.
But now, autism advocates say they are fearful that if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as health and human services secretary, it could undermine years of progress in unlinking autism and vaccines, while potentially diverting precious research dollars to a theory already discredited by hundreds of studies worldwide.
They warn he would wield vast influence over who sits on committees and steer policy.
And some condemned Kennedy’s past rhetoric around the disability, calling it stigmatizing and insulting.
Alison Singer, founder of the Autism Science Foundation, said she welcomes an examination into potential causes of autism, but focusing on vaccines could be dangerous for children.
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“Are we [also] reviewing the question about whether the Earth is flat? This is settled science,” – Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., who previously worked as a pediatrician
“A new crop of parents will be afraid, who may believe that vaccines could harm their children, potentially cause autism, and those parents might withhold life saving vaccines from their children,” Singer said.
She said the concern is that “funds are spent re-examining what we know does not cause autism, and are directed away from looking in new potential areas of what’s causing autism. There’s so much that we need to fund when it comes to autism research.”
Kennedy is scheduled to begin his Senate confirmation hearings on Wednesday. He’s expected to face tough questions about the misinformation he has promoted around public health over the years, including his claims about vaccines.
Kennedy, who founded an anti-vaccine nonprofit and grew into one of the most prominent anti-vaccine activists in the world — a crusade from which he and associated groups have made millions of dollars — has prominently advanced a false contention that vaccines cause autism …