The Senate health committee voted 13 to 10 on July 30 to advance Dr. Erica Schwartz's nomination to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the committee chairman said his support followed conversations with senior Department of Health and Human Services officials about removing vaccine and autism claims from the CDC's website.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who chairs the committee, said his decision came after multiple discussions with HHS about that webpage and about personnel changes at the agency. The committee also advanced Sean Kaufman's nomination to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
What is being negotiated here is not a scientific question. It is what a federal health agency's website says about one. For parents who use CDC pages to decide whether to vaccinate a child, that distinction has practical weight, because the page is often the first source a search returns.
Large-scale epidemiological studies published over more than two decades have not found a causal link between vaccines and autism. That is the state of the published literature, and no study cited in this dispute has changed it.
The Sequence of Edits Cassidy Described
The webpage in question has been altered more than once, and the timeline matters for understanding what Cassidy said he was told.
Cassidy voted to confirm HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after receiving what he described as an assurance that the CDC would not remove statements on its website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism. The agency did not remove that language. In November it added a sentence stating that the claim vaccines do not cause autism is not an evidence-based claim.
According to reporting by Healio, the page before July 22 also carried a note explaining that the header stating vaccines do not cause autism had not been removed because of an agreement with the chair of the Senate HELP Committee. That reference was subsequently removed.
CNN reported that as of July 23 the page read that scientists have not identified the root causes of autism, and that HHS continues to support rigorous scientific research and will update the page as reliable new evidence becomes available.
Cassidy called the modification a sign of good faith at the time. Asked days later on CNN whether it represented a good-faith attempt to stop spreading what he calls misinformation about vaccines, he replied that it did not, and described the remaining language as an insult to the American people.
MedicalDaily previously reported on the committee's scheduled vote and the public health caseload the next CDC director inherits.
The Assurances Attached to the Second Nominee
Kaufman's nomination had been the more uncertain of the two. He drew sharp questioning at his hearing over past social media posts that questioned vaccine safety, argued against the hepatitis B birth dose, and suggested a link between that vaccine and increased autism diagnoses. He also told senators he does not support research into new vaccines using mRNA technology.
Cassidy criticized those statements in strong terms during the hearing and again before the vote, saying Kaufman had said stupid and irresponsible things about immunization and had acknowledged as much privately.
He supported the nomination anyway, citing specific assurances. Cassidy said he had been told that if confirmed, Kaufman would not be involved in vaccine policy and would not be the ultimate decision-maker on issues such as mRNA vaccine research.
"We can't have perfection," Cassidy said at the outset of the vote, adding that the administration had committed to continuing work to remove misinformation from the page, which remains online.
Cassidy also said several actions had been taken at HHS regarding vaccines and autism, including personnel changes and improved oversight. Those assurances are characterizations by a senator of private conversations, not published agency commitments, and they have not been independently documented.
The Evidence Base the Dispute Is About
Because the page's wording is the subject rather than the science, the underlying evidence is worth stating plainly.
The suggestion of a vaccine-autism link originated in a 1998 paper that was later retracted after investigation found serious problems with its conduct, and its lead author lost his medical license. Subsequent research has been extensive.
Large cohort and case-control studies conducted across multiple countries and involving millions of children have consistently found no increased autism risk associated with MMR vaccination, with the number of vaccine antigens received, or with thimerosal exposure. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses reach the same conclusion. Autism research has meanwhile identified substantial genetic contributions and prenatal factors that are unrelated to vaccination.
Cassidy summarized the position this way before the vote: "We don't know what causes autism, but study after study shows that it is not vaccines."
The honest description of the current state of knowledge is that the causes of autism are not fully established, and that vaccines have been examined thoroughly and repeatedly ruled out as one of them. Those two statements are compatible, and conflating uncertainty about causes with uncertainty about vaccines is where public confusion tends to originate.
The Household Consequence of Federal Page Language
For a parent at a pediatric visit, the question is not who won a committee vote. It is whether the guidance they are reading is reliable.
The practical answer is that vaccine recommendations themselves have not changed as a result of these website edits. The CDC schedule still calls for two MMR doses. Clinicians and pediatric professional societies continue to recommend routine immunization on schedule.
Parents seeking a second reference point can consult the American Academy of Pediatrics and their own child's clinician, and can ask directly about any specific concern rather than working from a webpage. Vaccination questions during pregnancy, for a premature infant, or for a child with an immune condition are individual clinical decisions and should be discussed with the treating clinician rather than resolved from general guidance.
Cost should not be a barrier. The federal Vaccines for Children program covers recommended vaccines at no cost for eligible children, including those who are uninsured or Medicaid-enrolled, and most private plans cover routine immunization without cost sharing.
Both nominations now go to the full Senate. The CDC has been without a permanent director since last August. Cassidy, who lost his reelection bid this year, said he will continue watching the website as further HHS nominees move through confirmation. MedicalDaily will report the floor votes and any further changes to the agency's published guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened? The Senate health committee voted 13 to 10 to advance Dr. Erica Schwartz for CDC director, and also advanced Sean Kaufman for ASPR. Both go to the full Senate.
What did Cassidy say about the website? He said his support followed conversations with HHS officials about removing vaccine and autism claims from the CDC page and about personnel changes.
Has the language been removed? Not fully. Cassidy said the administration is committed to continuing that work and described the remaining language as an insult to the American people.
Do vaccines cause autism? Large studies across multiple countries involving millions of children have not found a causal link. That remains the conclusion of the published literature.
Have vaccine recommendations changed? The CDC schedule still calls for two MMR doses. Website wording disputes have not altered the recommended immunization schedule.
Who is Sean Kaufman? The nominee to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. Cassidy said he was assured Kaufman would not be involved in vaccine policy if confirmed.
Where can parents get reliable guidance? From a treating clinician and pediatric professional societies, and by asking specific questions rather than relying solely on a webpage.
