U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
This page has been posted on the anti-Vaccine Group child health defense website, which is apparently registered to nonprofits. Mr. Kennedy’s action came after The New York Times asked about the page and introduced it on social media.
The page is offline on Saturday night.
“Secretary Kennedy has directed the General Counsel's Office to make a formal need for the child health defense that requires the removal of its website,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
“At HHS, we are committed to bringing our institutions back to their evidence-based science tradition that maintains gold standards,” the statement said.
It is not clear why the anti-vaccine team may have published pages that mimic CDC. The group did not respond to a request for comment, and Mr. Kennedy said he had cut off contact with him when he started his presidential campaign in 2023.
The fake vaccine safety page is actually no different from the vaccine safety page available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) own website. The layout, font and logo are the same, perhaps in violation of federal copyright laws.
While the CDC’s own website refutes the link between vaccines and autism, the impostor opens up the possibility of a person’s existence. At the bottom, it includes links to video recommendations from parents who believe their children are hurt by the vaccine.
E. Rosalie Li, founder of the Information Epidemiology Laboratory, first posted the release of the page on the alternative. The nonprofit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Kennedy has insisted for years that there is a link between vaccines and autism. Although extensive research debunked the theory, he maintained that position during the Senate confirmation hearing.
Under his guidance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced plans to re-examine the evidence — Bill Cassidy, Republican Louisiana and chairman of the Senate Health Committee, said it was a waste of money.
The online mock page contains the familiar blue banners from the CDC, as well as the agency’s blue and white logo and the term “vaccine safety”. Titled “Vaccines and Autism.”
The text lists studies that support and debunk the link between vaccines and autism, but was refuted by scientists long ago that shootings are harmful.
It includes research by Brian S. Hooker, chief scientific officer of children’s health defense, and citations of other studies on vaccination criticism.
“It's a mix of things that are legally peer-reviewed,” said Dr. Bruce Gellin.
He added: “The footnote gives you the impression that it is legal scientific work.”
A series of recommendations at the bottom of the page have titles such as “3: Mother: I will never get vaccinated again” and “We signed his life”.
This contrasts with the official website of the CDC on autism and vaccines, which is largely committed to uncovering the idea of connections and makes it clear: “Study shows there is no link.”
Recently, child health defense has been stanced in the measles outbreak in West Texas.
The organization's CHD.TV channel was interviewed on camera by the parents of a 6-year-old girl who was declared measles by the state health department, the first reported death to measles in the United States in a decade.
According to the health agency, the child is not vaccinated and has no underlying medical conditions. But the Child Health Defense claims it has obtained hospital records that contradict the cause of death.
The organization also interviewed Dr. Ben Edwards, who treated the girl’s siblings, who was one of two alternative medicine practitioners Mr. Kennedy talked about the outbreak.
In response to the video, Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock, Texas issued a statement this week saying “recent videos circulating online contain misleading and inaccurate claims,” noting that confidentiality laws prevent hospitals from providing information particularly relevant to the case.
