HHS secretary falsely links hepatitis B vaccines to autism

Recent online posts have debated the cause and severity of ongoing U.S. measles outbreaks and the safety of ingredients in routine vaccinations.

Over the last few weeks, online vaccine conversations have focused on myths surrounding long-established vaccines and their ingredients. The HHS secretary resurfaced the decades-old conspiracy theory that the CDC covered up evidence that vaccines cause autism, prompting an online debate about the safety of the hepatitis B vaccine. Meanwhile, others online spread false claims about the safety of certain vaccine ingredients, including aluminum and thimerosal. Finally, as measles cases in the U.S. reached a three-decade high, vaccine opponents continue to falsely argue that vaccination is unnecessary and ineffective.

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What’s trending in vaccine conversation:

In a June 30 interview, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed that the hepatitis B vaccine is linked to an increased risk of autism. Kennedy claimed that the CDC covered up and “manipulated” data showing a dramatic increase in autism in children vaccinated at birth, a long-debunked myth that Kennedy and other anti-vaccine figures have repeated for decades. The CDC study that Kennedy cited was not a full study, but an abstract of early, unverified data presented at a 2000 conference. The data at that time showed no link between thimerosal exposure and autism. Three years after the conference, the full study was published in a peer-reviewed journal, showing no link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism or ADHD. Several trending videos suggested that anti-vaccine advocates were “right all along” and encouraged people to “do their own research.” Some parents questioned whether the hepatitis B vaccine and other vaccines are safe and necessary for infants, while others expressed concern and guilt about vaccinating their children.

Online conversations over the last few weeks highlight ongoing concern about vaccine ingredients, fueled by anti-vaccine social media accounts. In online forums, parents questioned the safety of certain vaccine ingredients, with a few expressing concern about thimerosal in the flu shot. One popular post speculated that the upcoming CDC report will attempt to falsely link autism to aluminum in vaccines, while others claimed that Kennedy will finally take “mercury” out of vaccines. Posts falsely claimed that vaccine ingredients are “poisonous” and poorly studied, and demanded that vaccine manufacturers be “held accountable” for the alleged harms caused by vaccines. Other conversations recirculated the false claim that vaccines contain fetal tissue and claimed, without evidence, that DNA fragments in vaccines trigger inflammation. 

On July 9, the CDC reported that measles infections have reached their highest levels in over 30 years, with nearly 1,300 cases in 38 states recorded so far this year. Online responses to the news continued to debate the outbreaks’ origin, the disease’s severity, and the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. Some urged parents to take the outbreaks seriously and criticized the anti-vaccine movement for causing “avoidable” outbreaks, while others dismissed the outbreaks as a “plandemic,” a reference to the conspiracy theory that world leaders use planned epidemics to control populations. Some falsely claimed that rising measles cases—which have overwhelmingly affected unvaccinated children—are a sign that the vaccine “failed,” falsely suggesting that “natural immunity” is superior.

Read the fact checks: 

• Tech ARP: Fact Check: Did CDC Hide 1135% Vaccine-Autism Risk? 
• Public Good News: What you need to know about vaccine ingredients and their safety 
• AAP: Fact Checked: The Measles Vaccine is Safe and Effective

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Talking points for health care providers to use in response to trending narratives

Each week the Infodemiology.com team will provide talking points and supporting messages in response to some of the trending narratives outlined above. Health care providers can use this messaging when discussing vaccines online, talking to patients, or engaging with communities.

The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and provides lifelong protection against the potentially deadly infection.

• Hepatitis B is an infection that can cause liver damage, liver cancer, and even death. Babies can get hepatitis B during birth or from infected adults at home—even if those adults don’t show symptoms or know that they have the virus.
• The vaccine starts protecting your baby from day one. It’s 95 percent effective, and all newborns should get their first dose within 24 hours of birth. 
• Hepatitis B vaccines have been in use since the 1980s, with no evidence of safety concerns. The vaccine has a very low risk of serious side effects, making it safe for newborns and young children.
• Decades of research have shown there’s no link between autism and vaccines. Hepatitis B vaccines do not contain thimerosal, an ingredient added to vaccines to prevent contamination. No credible research has ever found a link between thimerosal and autism. 

Every vaccine ingredient is rigorously tested and used to make vaccines safer and more effective.   

• Vaccines and all their ingredients are required to undergo multiple rounds of safety testing before they are approved for use. 
• Preservatives like thimerosal (ethylmercury) are added to vaccines to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination. These ingredients are added in tiny doses that are harmless to humans. Foods that we eat every day contain more of these substances than vaccines.
• Adjuvants boost the effectiveness of vaccines, allowing for a smaller dose. Aluminum in vaccines serves this purpose and has been proven safe for decades. Children get far more aluminum through their daily diet than from vaccines. 

Measles cases are on the rise in the U.S. Vaccination is the only safe, proven way to protect yourself and your family.

• Measles is not a “normal” childhood disease. It can cause severe illness and make children more susceptible to other infections. One in five children with measles will be hospitalized, one in 20 will develop pneumonia, and one to three in 1,000 will die.
• Measles outbreaks happen periodically, almost always in communities with low vaccination rates. 
• Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective against measles infection and provide lifelong protection. The vaccine has protected billions of children worldwide since the 1970s.
• Vaccination is the only way to prevent measles. There is no safe way to gain immunity through infection without risking lifelong health issues and death.

Interested in recommendations tailored to public health professionals? Click here.