HHS To Award Contract To Study Link Between Vaccines And Autism

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) are looking to investigate a potential association between vaccination and autism. The “no-bid” contract will be awarded to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute because the institute “has the unique ability to link children to maternal cohorts using proprietary databases and de-identified data sets, enabling advanced statistical analyses within the project’s timeframe.”

The contract was published on September 11, and the listed response date is September 26. HHS and CDC officials have not commented regarding the contract or the pending research. During an administration hearing last month, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said the agency would be announcing the results of the investigation into the causes of autism. Kennedy told Fox News that there is an “aggregation of causes” and an announcement would be made in September.

In April, Kennedy announced the agency would be investigating the triggers that cause autism. The HHS Secretary has received criticism for investigating triggers from some health experts who claim there are no environmental factors in autism, but rather genetic components. In addition, some health experts have also claimed that the significant rise in autism rates is solely attributed to widened criteria and improved diagnostic testing.

“Genetic markers provide vulnerabilities but don’t determine outcomes alone. You need an environmental toxin,” Secretary Kennedy said in April. “For example, only one in five smokers dies from lung cancer due to genetic predispositions. Similarly, low glutathione production, MTHFR gene mutations, or high testosterone increase autism vulnerability, but an environmental trigger is required.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on September 5 that the autism report released by HHS will link Tylenol use during pregnancy with autism as one of the environmental factors contributing to the increased rate of prevalence. However, HHS responded to the rumor and said any media reports about the research before HHS officially publishes the report are speculative.

Public statements by vaccinologists and federal health agencies have frequently said confidently that vaccines do not cause autism. The HighWire has reported about what some of these experts have said behind closed doors, including under oath in a courtroom. Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) Lead-Attorney Aaron Siri deposed leading vaccinologist Kathryn Edwards, who confirmed that clinical studies for vaccines on the childhood schedule have not been evaluated in a way to conclude whether they have a causal relationship with autism.

Dr. Andrew Wakefield released a study linking the MMR vaccine to autism, which is a typical reference point for the discussion about a possible causal link between routine childhood inoculations and autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Paul Offit, co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, is on video stating, “You can never really say MMR doesn’t cause autism, but you better get used to saying it.” That statement contradicts Offit’s public statements, including “it doesn’t even make sense that vaccines would cause autism, given what we know about autism.”

Siri’s written testimony submitted to the United State Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson in May counters the public statements from vaccinologists like Dr. Offit, who states the autism vaccine link has been studied and there is no causality.

Siri refers to ICAN FOIA requests and court cases against the CDC to get the studies that are used to claim that none of the vaccines given to children during the first year of life cause autism. The CDC failed to provide these studies regarding DTaP, Hep B, Hib, PCV13, and IPV. The CDC provided 16 studies and four reviews in response to the lawsuit. Siri said none of these studies support the claim that none of the vaccines in the first year of life cause autism.

“Instead, these 20 studies or reviews include 15 studies and three reviews concerning MMR and/or thimerosal,” Siri wrote. “1 study concerning antigen (not vaccine) exposure, and one review concerning MMR, thimerosal, and DTaP. Hence, only one of the 20 studies and reviews identified by the CDC involved a single vaccine given to infants, DTaP. This was the review the IOM published in 2012, discussed above, which failed to identify a study to support that DTaP does not cause autism. Instead, it found only one study regarding DTaP vaccine and autism, and that study found an association between this vaccine and autism. Hence, the only study or review out of 20 identified by the CDC that reviewed a vaccine given during the first year of life was a study which did find an association between DTaP vaccine and autism.”

Siri also refers to a study published in Environmental Health out of the University of Colorado that reviewed correlations between different environmental factors “suspected of potentially causing autism.” This study looked at the increase in exposures alongside the increases in autism and found doses of vaccination were more closely correlated with autism rates.

“Correlation does not equal causation, but it does provide a safety signal that merits investigation, including because numerous studies support immune dysfunction as a cause of autism and vaccines are intended to and do systemically modify the immune system,” Siri wrote. “Additionally, a significant proportion of parents of children with autism identify vaccines as what they believe caused their child’s autism, including pointing to the vaccines given in the first six months of life.”

Last year, a study found a connection between Pfizer’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and autism-like behaviors in male rats by way of significant alterations of WNT gene expressions in both male and female rats. The researchers note the limitations of animal studies. The ratio of autism in boys and girls is about 4:1, meaning for every girl who has autism, there are four boys with the disorder.

The vaccine injury compensation program had compensated at least 83 cases of brain damage and autism related to vaccine injuries as of 2011 when a study was published. One of these cases involved a $1.5 million payout in 2010 linking a child’s autism disorder to a doctor’s visit in which she was vaccinated against nine diseases.