On Monday, President-elect Trump expressed concerns about vaccines, suggesting there are serious “problems” associated with them while again linking vaccines to rising autism rates. During a broad press conference at Mar-a-Lago, he stated, “There are problems. We don’t do as well as a lot of other nations, and those nations use nothing.”
Trump implied that vaccines might be contributing to an increase in autism and hinted at a potential investigation by his administration, a stance he has maintained for years, especially in light of his alliance with vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump defends vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS nominee
“If you look at autism, so 30 years ago we had I heard numbers like 1 in 200,000, 1 in 100,000. Now I’m hearing numbers like 1 in 100. So something’s wrong. There’s something wrong. And we’re going to find out about it,” he remarked.
While autism diagnoses have indeed risen, experts attribute this trend to increased awareness and changes in diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with ASD today, compared to about 1 in 150 in 2000.
Trump also indicated his disapproval of vaccine mandates, which have been a longstanding component of public health policy in the United States. “I don’t like mandates; I’m not a big mandate person,” he said in response to a question about whether schools should require vaccinations.
His opposition to school mandates was a recurring theme during his campaign, although aides clarified that he was specifically referring to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. In related comments, Trump defended Kennedy, his nominee for the Department of Health and Human Services, as he seeks to gain support from GOP senators on Capitol Hill this week.
“I think he’s going to be much less radical than you would think. I think he’s got a very open mind. Or I wouldn’t have put him there,” Trump remarked. Kennedy is expected to face scrutiny regarding his policy positions, many of which diverge from traditional GOP views. He has a history of questioning vaccine efficacy and promoting the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.
However, Trump emphasized his strong support for the polio vaccine, assuring, “You’re not going to lose” it, citing personal experiences with the disease and mentioning friends who were significantly affected by polio.
