STAT+: CDC’s reported study on vaccines and autism could test RFK Jr.’s pledges to a key senator
Bill Cassidy said RFK Jr. pledged to keep communication lines wide open and to consult with the senator on vaccine policy.
Reports of a new federal plan to study whether there’s a link between vaccines and autism could serve as an early test of the commitments Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he received from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in exchange for his support for RFK Jr.’s confirmation as Health and Human Services secretary.
On Friday, multiple news outlets reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was planning the study. Cassidy said last week that such a study would be a waste of time and money, because research has already shown there’s no link.
When he backed Kennedy’s confirmation, one of the commitments Cassidy said he received was a pledge to keep communication lines wide open and to consult Cassidy on vaccine policy. And yet, when Cassidy was asked Tuesday for his reaction to the reports, he said he’s not even sure the agency truly intends to run such a study.
