Vaccines do not cause autism. This issue has been thoroughly researched by leading health experts, including the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine), which concluded that there is no link.

IEC is dedicated to improving healthcare for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD), including autism. We are concerned about the CDC’s decision to launch a new study on vaccines and autism.

Studies like this waste precious time and resources. Worse, they may also hurt autistic people by:

• Diverting funding away from meaningful health and life supports
• Endangering public health by eroding confidence in safe and effective vaccines

The focus should be on practical solutions to help autistic people achieve the best health and life possible:

• Expand access to quality healthcare for people with autism and other disabilities
• Increase funding for research on what services people with autism and other IDD need and how best to deliver those services
• Strengthen vaccination programs to prevent the spread of diseases that people with IDD may be more susceptible to because of their living situations

It’s time to move forward. Let’s focus on working with people with IDD to improve their health and quality of life.