Colorado Chooses Vaccines has expressed concern over recent updates to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Autism and Vaccines webpage, which now states that vaccines cause autism. The group says this claim is not supported by scientific evidence.
“CDC career scientists did not make the change, and it contradicts more than three decades of research spanning millions of children. That research consistently found that vaccines do not cause autism,” said Dr. David Higgins of the Colorado Chooses Vaccines coalition.
The statement comes at a time when both Colorado and the United States are seeing an increase in diseases that can be prevented by vaccines, such as measles, pertussis (whooping cough), and influenza.
Health professionals, public health leaders, policymakers, and community organizations in Colorado are working together to provide families with accurate information about vaccine safety. Colorado Chooses Vaccines aims to support these efforts by helping residents find reliable resources during what they describe as a period of changing federal guidance on vaccines.
Coloradans seeking factual information about vaccine safety can refer to Immunize Colorado’s fact sheet or consult guides produced by parent-led groups like Vaccinate Your Family and the Autism Science Foundation regarding autism and vaccines.
Data on respiratory virus trends in Colorado is available through a dashboard provided by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Information about vaccination rates at individual schools can also be accessed via CDPHE’s immunization data dashboard for colleges, universities, schools, and child care facilities.
