TIME

Much of Kennedy’s opposition to vaccination seems to center on his false claim that vaccines cause autism. But there have now been studies that have included millions of children and these studies have found no relationship between vaccination and autism. One remarkable study looked at every child born in Denmark over a twelve-year period and could not identify an increased risk of autism in the children who were vaccinated relative to those who were not.

Indeed, the evidence is very clear: there is no link between vaccination and autism. The best available research evidence suggests that autism is likely to be genetic in nature. The rise in the incidence of autism is attributable largely to evolving diagnostic criteria that are intended to capture more cases and begin earlier intervention. All of this evidence has not stopped anti-vaccine activists like Kennedy from holding steadfast to their false claims, with each successive refutation being met with an excuse.

Notes

For more information on this topic, visit our Investigations page on vaccines and autism.

For more information and context

• Vaccines and autism

TIME

Kennedy’s brand of extreme anti-vaccine activism can have deadly consequences. In June 2019, he visited Samoa, appearing alongside local anti-vaccine activists. Later that year, a measles outbreak resulted in 83 preventable deaths, most of which were in children under 5, because of poor uptake of the MMR vaccine.

Notes

This statement implies that RFK Jr is responsible for the Samoan measles outbreak and the death of 83 children because of low vaccination coverage caused by “anti-vaxxers.” The Samoan government suspended its measles vaccination program for nine months preceding the outbreak. While the author doesn’t define poor uptake, the documented estimate comes from vaccination rates in 2018 by the WHO and UNICEF. They reported 31% vaccine coverage for that year. The poor uptake of the MMR vaccine in this context resulted from the shutdown of the MMR vaccine program in July through the end of 2018.

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• Did RFK Jr cause a measles outbreak in Samoa?