The Trump administration has altered the CDC’s website to contradict the scientific conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism. The change appears to have been ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, based on the debunked claims of disgraced ex-doctor Andrew Wakefield, who in 1998 published a paper in The Lancet suggesting the MMR vaccine causes autism. The paper was later retracted over ethical violations and falsified data. At least 24 follow-up studies involving thousands of children found no link between the MMR vaccine and the onset of autism. According to the CDC’s own findings, measles vaccinations have saved more than 94 million lives worldwide since 1974 and played a substantial role in reducing childhood mortality.