There is no scientific link between vaccines and autism—and adding autism to the federal vaccine injury list would not only be wrong, it would be deeply harmful.

Now, under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., that’s exactly what’s being considered.

The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was created to help the very small number of people who experience rare, documented vaccine injuries—such as severe allergic reactions or Guillain-Barré syndrome. The program has helped thousands of families and has also protected vaccine access in the U.S. by stabilizing the legal landscape for vaccine makers.

But Secretary Kennedy is now threatening that system.

He’s commissioned a report on the causes of autism—reportedly written by a longtime anti-vaccine activist—and has signaled his intent to add autism to the VICP injury list, despite decades of global research disproving any connection between vaccines and autism.

If autism is added to the list, it will do the following:

• Legitimize long-debunked myths about vaccines and autism
• Open the floodgates for false claims, overwhelming the VICP and draining resources from families with legitimate vaccine-related injuries
• Further stigmatize autistic people by labeling their identity as a “vaccine injury”
• Trigger legal and reputational panic among vaccine manufacturers, possibly leading to reduced production or supply.
   

This isn’t just bad science—it’s dangerous policy.

We, the undersigned, call on Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to abandon any effort to add autism to the VICP injury list

Congress to protect the scientific integrity of the VICP and prevent politically driven changes

The CDC and FDA to publicly reaffirm that vaccines do not cause autism
 

Families affected by autism deserve understanding, support, and inclusion—not to be used as pawns in an anti-vaccine agenda. And families who rely on vaccines every day—especially those who are medically vulnerable—deserve a system based on facts, not fear.

Sign now if you agree: Keep autism off the vaccine injury list.