West Coast Health Alliance: Vaccines are not linked to autism

The West Coast Health Alliance and the Hawaiʻi Department of Health are reaffirming their strong recommendation that children receive routine vaccinations, following recent changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website that raised concerns among some health experts.

In a statement issued late last week, the Alliance said it is “deeply concerned” about changes to the CDC site that suggest the long-standing statement “vaccines do not cause autism” is not evidence-based. The Alliance countered that decades of rigorous research involving millions of people across multiple countries provide high-quality evidence showing no link between vaccines and autism.

“Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition with multiple contributing genetic and environmental factors,” the Alliance said. “Suggesting it stems from any single cause, such as vaccination, misleads families who deserve accurate guidance. It is not only a disservice to families seeking clarity about vaccines but also potentially harmful to autistic individuals and their families.”

Along with the statement, the Alliance hyperlinked to an article found on Autism Science Foundation’s website, which includes various research on the topic.

The West Coast Health Alliance is a coalition formed by an interstate compact among the states of California, Oregon and Washington to coordinate public health guidelines separate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to a public announcement by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, the coalition was created “to ensure residents remain protected by science, not politics” and represents “a unified regional response to the Trump Administration’s destruction of the US CDC’s credibility and scientific integrity.”

Public health recommendations, the Alliance said, must be grounded in credible science, as parents navigate conflicting or misleading information online.

The Alliance encourages families to seek information from trusted health care providers and reputable medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics.