\ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/t.co\/T2OCNiXGdx<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 City of Long Beach (@LongBeachCity) November 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The infamous study linking vaccines to autism was thoroughly debunked and retracted more than 15 years ago, according to the National Library of Medicine<\/a>. The study by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his 12 co-authors was published in the Lancet, a highly respected medical journal, in 1998. The findings sparked a rise in vaccine hesitancy among parents, which were amplified by the likes of actress Jenny McCarthy.<\/p>\n In 2010, however, the Lancet retracted the paper, stating \u201cseveral elements\u201d of the study \u201care incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n The initial study included 12 children with chronic enterocolitis and regressive developmental disorder. Parents for eight of the children associated the condition with vaccines, which led the authors to the conclusion that there was a link between vaccines and autism.<\/p>\n In January 2010, Britain\u2019s General Medical Council found that Wakefield\u2019s research was unethical due to the fact that the research was funded by lawyers representing parents involved in lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers and that the children were carefully selected. The council also stated the study showed a \u201ccallous disregard\u201d for the children involved.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf8<\/p>\n Brandon Richardson is an editor, photographer and reporter for the Watchdog. If this work is important to you, please thank him.<\/p>\n The paper was retracted the following month.<\/p>\n Despite the retraction of the paper, its findings continue to fuel anti-vaxx rhetoric today, including in the Trump administration\u2019s Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/p>\n Kennedy, one of numerous controversial appointees by President Donald Trump, has been an outspoken anti-vaxxer for years, which drew questions and criticism when he was announced as Trump\u2019s pick as the top health official in the country. In April, Kennedy pledged to find the cause of autism<\/a> by September.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole thing about \u2018vaccines have been tested and there\u2019s been this determination made,\u2019 is just a lie,\u201d Kennedy said in an interview with the New York Times<\/a> earlier this month. In the interview, Kennedy said he told the CDC to change its website’s language on autism and vaccines.<\/p>\n Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, has no medical background or expertise.<\/p>\n Long Beach health officials noted that independent researchers from seven countries have conducted 40 \u201chigh-quality\u201d studies involving 5.6 million people since Wakefield\u2019s paper was published almost 30 years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cNo credible scientific evidence supports a connection,\u201d the department wrote in a Nov. 25 press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe increase in autism diagnoses reflects improved screening practices, broader diagnostic criteria and greater public awareness, not a link to vaccines,\u201d the department continued. \u201cMisinformation about autism and vaccines not only spreads confusion but also contributes to stigma affecting people in the autism community and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n The pushback against Kennedy has grown more intense in recent months, with Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, leading the charge. During a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Sept. 4, Warnock told Kennedy he was \u201ca hazard to the health of the American people\u201d and urged him to resign, as reported by CBS News<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the hearing Warnock noted a resurgence of measles in pockets of the U.S. can be linked directly to the anti-vaxxer rhetoric that is amplified by the health department under Kennedy\u2019s leadership. In July, Johns Hopkins announced<\/a> measles cases hit their highest level since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.<\/p>\n \u201cSecretary Kennedy has spent his time in office spreading doubt about vaccines,\u201d Warnock wrote in a Nov. 23 post on X<\/a>. \u201cNow measles is back. He is a threat to our health and must be fired immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the university\u2019s U.S. Measles Tracker<\/a>, cases of the disease in 2025 reached 1,800 as of Nov. 28, with Texas accounting for 44%. The previous high came in 2019, when the country saw 1,274 cases. Excluding 2019, from 2018 through 2024, the country averaged 152 cases of measles annually.<\/p>\n Of the cases, 94% are in unvaccinated children, according to Johns Hopkins data. At least three measles-related deaths have been recorded in the U.S. this year, according to the JAMA Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dr. Tempe Chen, who specializes in pediatrics and infectious diseases at Long Beach Medical Center, pushed back against the Trump administration\u2019s claims in a statement to the Watchdog, noting the debunking of Wakefield\u2019s research.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are numerous high-quality studies (including epidemiologic studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses) examining the relationship between vaccines and autism, and the evidence consistently shows no association between vaccines and autism,\u201d Chen wrote in a Nov. 26 email. \u201cIn summary, vaccines do not cause autism. Rather, they make adults!\u201d<\/p>\n We need your support.<\/p>\n Subcribe to the Watchdog today.<\/p>\n The Long Beach Watchdog is owned by journalists, and paid for by readers like you. If independent, local reporting like the story you just read is important to you, support our work by becoming a subscriber.<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-29-at-12.31.09---PM.png\")
A screenshot of the CDC website taken Nov. 28, 2025.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cumulative-measles-cases-reported-in-the-united-states-by-year.png\")
Chart courtesy of Johns Hopkins.<\/p>\n