The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revised its long-standing Guidance on vaccines and autism.
The guidance once clearly and accurately stated that the evidence showed no link between vaccines and the event of autism.
It now claims that “studies supporting a link [between vaccines and autism] Ignored by health authorities. It also says:
The claim “vaccines do not cause autism” isn’t an evidence-based claim because studies haven’t ruled out the likelihood that childhood vaccines cause autism.
Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr Directed the CDC to make these changesdespite promising not to alter the CDC’s vaccine recommendations.
With this modification in wording on the web site, the CDC has been dragged to a brand new low. The CDC once stood as the worldwide standard for scientific integrity. Sadly, it’s now in peril of becoming a megaphone for misinformation and a tool for individuals who aim to undermine science.
Let’s have a look at the newest CDC statement about vaccines and autism, and the way it contradicts how science works.
Science cannot prove a universal negative
Saying that “studies have not ruled out the possibility that childhood vaccines cause autism” is in direct conflict with the best way science works.
Using science, we are able to show that two things are linked by showing consistent, reproducible associations that delay across multiple study designs. We can even test a hypothesis repeatedly and from many angles.
So, for instance, when high-quality studies using different methods, populations and measurements, all Could not find a link Between vaccines and autism, the logical conclusion is that there is no such thing as a causal link.
But we cannot prove the universal absence of a link.
If we’re to just accept this concept, one can all the time claim that they aren’t convinced by the present evidence because perhaps the following research will find something. Using the identical logic, it’s unattainable to rule out the earth or that fairies exist.
It is unsuitable to reverse the burden of proof
Another dangerous premise within the CDC’s recent framing of vaccines and autism is that it shifts the burden of proof.
In science, an individual making a claim, especially one who argues against the available consensus, must provide evidence for it.
The rhetorical maneuver on the CDC’s website that implies it’s crucial to exhibit the absence of a link, nonetheless, turns this rule on its head. This suggests that it is cheap to expect scientists to defend against an infinite list of hypothetical possibilities.
But as American astronomer Carl Sagan Famously put it“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. In science, if you would like to assert something that contradicts the scientific consensus, the burden is on you to supply evidence that justifies overturning what we already know.
The more implausible the claim, the upper the bar for providing high-quality, reproducible, and methodologically sound research to support it.
By asking the CDC to change its website guidance, RFK Jr. wants you to just accept the other: that he or anyone else could make any claims and that everybody has the responsibility to disprove those claims.
It’s also unclear what evidence will change RFK Jr.’s mind about vaccines and autism. This leaves the door open for him to assert any evidence that doesn’t support his preferred narrative is insufficient.
But what in regards to the study that claimed to be the proof?
Speculation a couple of link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism began as a hoax and Now retracted 1998 Lancet paper By the infamous Dr. Andrew Wakefield.
Even if you happen to accepted the whole lot in Wakefield’s paper as true (it wasn’t) and assumed he was an honest researcher (he wasn’t), you’d still be left with nothing but a case series of 12 children. This study design is unable to ascertain a causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
Also the next investigation naked An extended list of harmful results about Wakefield, including:
1) He concealed major financial conflicts of interest
Wakefield was Paid big money That amount did not be disclosed, by lawyers preparing a lawsuit against the MMR manufacturers. It was contracted to search out evidence supporting a link between MMR and autism.
At the identical time, he had Patent filed For a single-dose measles vaccine and diagnostic test that stood in for profit as public fears about MMR grew.
2) He committed a serious moral turpitude
Wakefield A false claim was made This study had ethics approval. It didn’t occur. There were children with developmental conditions The attacker is subject to the procedureincluding colonic and lumbar punctures without justification or appropriate supervision.
3) He misrepresented how the kids were recruited
This paper claims that children are consistently referred, implying an unbiased clinical sample. Actually, several was recruited Wakefield’s funding of lawsuits by anti-vaccine groups or families involved means the sample was deliberately cherry-picked to support his preconceived hypothesis.
4) He modified and misinterpreted the info
Comparison between medical records and published papers Widespread misunderstanding revealed:
- Symptoms that began before vaccination were rewritten as occurring after MMR
- Gastrointestinal findings were exaggerated or invented
- The diagnosis was manipulated to suit his fabricated “autistic intercolitis” syndrome.
- General clinical findings were presented as abnormal.
The tragedy in all of that is that a bogus study that ought to never have seen the sunshine of day must have continued, even now, to destroy confidence in life-saving vaccines. This is the wind Decline in vaccination rates, resurgence of preventable childhood diseases, and unnecessary deaths.
It has also done immense harm to autistic people and their families by fueling stigma and misinformation.