Tag: cdc

Autism Rates Surged More Than 40% Between 2019-2024 — Where’s the Urgency?

Children from low-income families, girls, and 3- to 5-year-olds showed the steepest increases in autism rates, according to a large CDC study. The researchers also found 1 in 5 children were diagnosed with a developmental disability. The authors cited earlier detection and awareness as contributors to the increases. But experts said the paper offered no evidence for those explanations, called for a “greater sense of urgency to understand” what’s behind the large increases.

The percentage of U.S. children diagnosed with a developmental disability rose sharply between 2019 and 2024, with reported cases of autism increasing by more than 40% and ADHD also climbing substantially, according to a new study published in Pediatrics.

In 2023-2024, an estimated 20.45% of children ages 3 to 17 — roughly 1 in 5 — were diagnosed with at least one of five developmental disabilities, up from 16.73% in 2019-2020, a 22.2% increase in just five years.

Autism showed the largest increase, rising 42.4%, with the steepest increases reported among 3- to 5-year-olds and children from families living below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics analyzed data from the 2019-2024 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative household survey that includes detailed health interviews with families in their home or by phone.

Toby Rogers, Ph.D., social & economic research fellow at the Brownstone Institute, told The Defender that the “truly alarming” findings were solid, based on a large sample size and a detailed dataset.

He called the lead author, Benjamin Zablotsky, Ph.D., “a titan in the field of autism prevalence research.”

However, Rogers told The Defender that he was “struck by the cowardice of the study’s discussion section and conclusions.”

In their discussion of the data, the authors said the study didn’t investigate what drove the substantial increases, but that changes in diagnostic criteria and clinical practices, and increased awareness among parents and across society may explain the increased prevalence.

“The conclusion that these increases ‘could be related to earlier detection and awareness’ is speculation that is not grounded in any strong evidence presented in the paper, autism researcher Cynthia Nevison, Ph.D., told The Defender.

Nevison, who recently published a study in California that found comparable rising rates, said the CDC researchers could have acknowledged that the numbers may also reflect true increases in autism — and that “distinguishing those alternative explanations is an urgent public health research priority.”

The study examined data from 2019-2024. “A lot of toxicological factors changed during that time period,” Rogers said. He cited more onerous vaccine mandates in California, New York and other blue states; more shots added to the childhood vaccine schedule and recommended for pregnant women; and the COVID-19 shots, which were given to the most Americans for the first time.

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Court-Ordered Confusion: CDC Now Recommends a COVID-19 Shot FDA Hasn’t Approved for Most Adults

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is telling the nation’s doctors that every adult 18 and older should receive a 2026-2027 COVID-19 vaccine, despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved those same vaccines in August only for adults 65 and older and for younger people with at least one condition that puts them at high risk.

This is just one of the potentially deadly points of advice confusion that the Independent Medical Alliance (IMA), a national coalition of 20,000 independent physicians, researchers and healthcare professionals, is calling on to be removed from HHS websites.

“The CDC, FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services must immediately resolve this contradiction and instead err toward patient safety,” said Dr. Joseph Varon, President and Chief Medical Officer of the Independent Medical Alliance. “The CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine pages don’t match current FDA labeling and safety warnings. Instead, outdated advice that has since proven harmful, and even deadly, to patients is still being promoted. If pending court cases are an issue, then the CDC should immediately take down the content.”

Dozens of studies since the release of the mRNA platform have demonstrated elevated cardiovascular risks associated with the shot, particularly in younger men. Other side effects include unexplained resurgence of cancers in shot recipients, warranting extreme caution on recommending any mRNA product. The IMA’s Journal of Independent Medicine is quickly becoming the nation’s leading forum on examining the impacts of mRNA therapy.

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Measles Fear Is Being Used To Sell A Schedule — Follow The Numbers

According to the below October 6 Fox News Report, measles cases in the US are at nearly 3,900 – the worst year for the virus since 1991, declares the CDC. Pennsylvania has over 1,000 cases and five measles-related deaths. New York has declared a disaster emergency.

The video opened with the number of measles cases reported by the CDC this year. But it was the death toll that reached for the biggest number of all – five. That number is reported by the state of Pennsylvania, which counts anyone who died within 30 days of a lab-confirmed case of measles. The segment never mentioned that the CDC lists only two measles deaths for the entire year, counting only deaths where measles is the underlying cause on the death certificate, according to KFF. The CDC is still working with state epidemiologists to come up with a national definition of a measles death.

The same goes for the figure officials repeat most. The CDC reports that 95% of cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. These are two separate groups folded into one number. A missing record is not the same as a refused shot. Only about 10% of cases have resulted in hospitalization, according to CIDRAP. And the 1991 comparison leaves out the rest of the picture: that year there were 9,643 cases, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, and this year’s 4,080 is still less than half of that.

Pennsylvania administered more than 56,000 doses of MMR vaccine in September alone, more than double a typical month. New York declared its statewide emergency on October 5 with about 100 cases of the highly contagious disease in a state of roughly 20 million people. As part of the emergency, additional groups of health care providers will be able to administer vaccine, including paramedics, pharmacists and midwives. Merck and GSK sell the MMR vaccines in the US. More immunizations equal more sales of these vaccines.

Also this week, New York Attorney General Letitia James and 15 other states are suing HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the childhood vaccine schedule the CDC issued in January. The schedule stopped recommending seven vaccines for every child, and most were moved to what the CDC calls “shared clinical decision-making” between parents and doctors. James’ suit seeks to put the old schedule back, and it also challenges Kennedy’s firing of all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee. Her office calls Kennedy one of the nation’s most prominent anti-vaccine activists.

Follow the money! New York AG Letitia James has received over $71,000 from the Soros family (yes, that Soros family) since 2019, according to state filings, and over $100,000 from health care unions, nursing homes and industry PACs in her 2018 attorney general primary, according to City & State. (Note: no reports have surfaced regarding money from vaccine makers, but the biomedical industry that benefits when fear is turned into doses of vaccine is the same industry whose schedule she is defending.)

Together, the case count leads a report about measles that makes a great case for alarming families, states declare emergencies and allow more people to give vaccines, and then the alarm becomes the argument for putting back a childhood vaccine schedule. None of the seven vaccines in her lawsuit is the MMR shot for measles.

Georgia families deserve the raw numbers, the definitions behind them, and the names of those who benefit when fear leads to prescriptions.

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In Shadow of Pending Lawsuit, CDC Again Recommends COVID Vaccines for Infants and Young Kids

The CDC quietly reinstated its July 2025 COVID-19 vaccination recommendations, including recommending the vaccine for “off-label” use for infants and children, Maryanne Demasi, Ph.D., reported. The changes bring the CDC recommendations in line with a court order issued in March by U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy. “CHD’s position is that these vaccines should be off the market,” Children’s Health Defense CEO Mary Holland said today.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quietly reinstated its July 2025 COVID-19 vaccination recommendations, including recommending the vaccine for “off-label” use among infants and children, Maryanne Demasi, Ph.D., reported.

According to the CDC’s updated webpage, the agency now recommends the COVID-19 shot for all adults ages 18 and older and for children ages 6 months to 17 years who are moderately to severely immunocompromised.

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Can You Trust CDC’s Flu Vaccine Effectiveness Estimates? Epidemiologist Says No

Every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates how effective last year’s flu vaccine was at preventing flu-related symptoms and hospitalizations.

But are the CDC’s estimates accurate? Can you trust them?

Dr. Eyal Shahar, a professor emeritus of epidemiology at the University of Arizona’s Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, says no — because the CDC uses what he says is an inherently biased study design to arrive at those estimates.

In an interview with The Defender, Shahar said that for years, the CDC has insisted on using a “problematic” test-negative study design, even though better designs exist.

“There are many supporters of the test-negative design, and the CDC simply adopted that design long ago,” Shahar said. “There are CDC-associated networks, all of which exclusively use that design to estimate effectiveness. It is time for a change.”

Shahar has authored nearly 200 papers, a book chapter on biases in epidemiological research, and two books, including a textbook on epidemiology and statistics. He has taught courses in methodology and is the former associate editor of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

A test-negative study design method is relatively easy and cheap, but it is known to produce biased and incoherent results, Shahar said.

Test-negative studies on flu vaccine effectiveness enroll people who sought medical care for flu-like symptoms and were tested for the flu. The researchers compare the vaccination status between those who tested positive and those who tested negative.

But that means the study is limited to people who sought medical care and were tested. That’s a form of selection bias, because the study excluded everyone who didn’t do those things. Limiting the study in this way can also cause collider bias, which could skew the results, Shahar said.

Shahar said better study designs would likely yield more accurate results, but they require more effort and money.

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Desperate Cries for Help the CDC Ignored

A damning review of V-safe data by Brownstone Institute and REACT19 shows desperate cries for help, suicidal thoughts, and reports of death from thousands after being injured by a Covid-19 vaccine—all of which CDC ignored.

The following is a small sample of these pleas for help. If you are one of these people, please reach out to ICAN at info@icandecide.org.

1. TH4-17845-77781 05/14/21 “My wife (b)(6) is in a tremendous amount of pain from her first shot of Phizer. PLEASE help her. No one else is helping her. Put her in touch witb some expert in this vaccine area. Please i am begging you to help (b)(6)”
2. 8U5-27402-70028 04/13/21 “This is ridiculous. Nobody is reading this. She had a reaction within 20 minutes of vaccine and died. Have been reporting her death to you all since beginning of check in — Death”
3. N7P-10593-65876 04/29/21 “She died and clearly no one reads this. Clearly the CDC is just a joke? — She DIED!!!!!!!!”
4. YNF-19085-18961 04/24/21 “My hand numbness/tingling is continuing. No one has any answers except it should have gone away by now. I don’t have insurance and can’t afford a doctor. I NEED HELP!”
5. VP6-27753-73007 05/25/21 “Patient is deceased due to the complications of the Pfizer vaccine, is anyone even reading this as I already mentioned the passing away in the last one?? Kaiser said that they have lodged complaint to CDC, please follow up, thank you”
6. CNN-58498-17589 10/01/22 “Medical examiner declaring [name] dead — (b)(6) died soon after the vacine. I replied 3 times now. CDC is inefficient”
7. 4QG-33889-09489 04/28/21 “I have vertigo since March 18th after second Pfizer dose. I have asked for HELP here and no one responds. My doctor has no advise. Pfizer does not respond. HELP PLEASE!!!”
8. 5VS-90097-00645 01/15/21 “I have been deathly ill since I received the covid vaccine on 12/23. No one knows what happened to me and no one is helping me. I feel like I am going to die.”
9. 5HH-33715-67821 05/15/21 “Everything is the same as the very first one I completed just much worse. I can’t take much more of this. No one is helping and I’m ready to kill myself”
10. K4A-31774-82113 05/16/21 “I need help and I cannot get it — My mental health seems so bad as though I am not taking my meds i am suicidal”
11. QWJ-31177-09174 05/17/21 “I had a frightening allergic reaction. I was so incapacitated I couldnt reach my cellphone for help. Once I did, and tried to report my reaction, nobody seemed to care. I was afraid I was going to die.”
12. RR2-30038-54302 03/26/21 “I feel like Im going to die. I cant get out of be except to pee. And you guys dont care. Why dont you good afternoon lab rat how are you feeling todat”
13. KDR-22243-72993 01/13/21 “I continue to have peripheral neuropathy on my hands and feet, along with joint pain in my hands. I have received 2 calls from people reporting to be from VAERS and each time they say they will call me back, and no one does. This is very concerning”
14. NCN-22385-46012 01/18/21 “Again, heart palpitations and chest pain with squeezing tightness and tachycardia. Went to doctor today for it. Now have to wear heart monitor. Still have not heard from anyone regarding my symptoms. Again, is anyone reading this? This is concerning for me as I do not have a history of this an am an avid outdoors/ active person. monitor”
15. 7EJ-80298-92811 04/20/21 “Bells Palsy and no assistance from this siteIve even called in and no one returns calls. This is a waste of time. I am miserable and cant blink my eye. This vaccine has cause me a lot of issues and I wish someone would help me.”
16. 9T2-27109-51696 05/16/21 “Cant breathe cant sleep constant diarrhea constant headaches urinating in pain. But what do you care because nobody calls me up and asked me whats going on. Im living in a society where nobody gives a shit.”
17. B3A-39378-11603 05/18/21 “I think I have a blood clot and no one will help me! — Chest pain over my heart leg pain Abdamin pain left shoulder pain neck pain face pain up to eye forearm pain and numbness leg numbness from toes up to hip with pain level at a 10 clammy and elbow pain”
18. SBQ-48267-08351 05/18/21 “Please help. It started with the first vaccine. My mind is foggy. I cant think, I cant do what I need to do. Its been months and it wont go away. I feel like Im in a medicated haze and I feel like Im gone from my own body. Please he — Seeing a neurologist”
19. TLV-72107-82752 04/08/21 “Since I got my first dose I’ve had EBV and was subsequently diagnosed with CAEBV. I’m so tired and bedridden. I can’t get anyone to help me from the health dept, or moderna. my own doctor says he doesn’t have any info so Im trying (b)(6)”
20. UE7-20099-12127 04/13/21 “I’m continuing to lose my vision!!! The vaccine began attacking my eyes within minutes after the injection. Within days it began to attack other organs. Pfizer said they haven’t trained any doctors to help people with adverse side effects.I need help”
21. EFB-34394-29376 07/25/22 “Can’t remember-can’t feel legs from knees down, trouble breathing, can’t walk long (can’t walk to back of store) need caretaker/can’t live alone need HELP please call (b)(6) need you/cant afford medicine or food if these prices keep going up!”
22. SSJ-22140-08717 01/13/21 “Feeling electricity pulsing throughout my bady can’t walk. Inna wheelchair. Need help with mu Adls”
23. Q3M-20490-56119 04/20/21 “Massive lower back pain. I can’t leave bed and if I do, need help. I can’t walk by myself”
24. FD3-11429-68175 05/22/21 “Body stiffness,cramping, I feel like Im paralyzed at times from waist down. I need someone to call me (b)(6) and advise me on where to go for help. Ive gone to my physician & ER and they say they cant help me!”
25. LHW-12596-84447 04/28/21 “My fave gets numb on left side all day,afternoon, and evenings. Im afraid of having anotherstroke, anxious about hurting or killing a student whole driving my school bus, and more that you all don’t care about as you are doing nothing to help me as.”
26. ZWL-10153-73969 05/16/21 “I am not sure if anyone reads this. You keep wanting to know how I feel? I keep telling you that I am dizzy after getting my shot but do you really care? Not once has anyone reached out to me with any advice or help. So my symptoms are still the same”
27. SSJ-17957-30619 04/17/21 “Severe dizzyness. Checking in now on my forth week with dizzyness. Is anyone reading my posts? Would appreciate some help or advice. — Mri of brain and bloodwork”
28. 5RL-83717-71050 05/19/21 “Left shoulder still pain 8/10 from first shot. Someone please help. No one has answers.”
29. K2T-27246-93955 01/17/21 “Ive had a severe headache since 1/12/21 no insurance no one would help me not even you”
30. Z4E-55161-40006 04/28/21 “Severe breast and lymph node pain and swelling. Can someone please tell me if this is normal? Why am I taking the time to fill this out if no one will help me?”
31. NNU-57946-51050 05/21/21 “My entire left leg and foot are huge. I’m so swollen in just left leg. No one will help me. — Dr office”
32. JAY-45842-49882 04/10/21 “Ringing in the ears has gotten worse and I need some help. Its constant and extremely bothersome and no one has been able to help.”
33. CSA-15636-44924 04/19/21 “Bruising under the rash, rash on my legs, itching in my shoulders and neck. And I cant get anyone on the line to help me. I need help”
34. JFY-64443-76361 05/16/21 “Im itching again and it makes me miserable. Can someone call me. Ive given u my number and no one calls. If someone doesnt, then quit sending me these texts. (b)(6)”
35. X32-32274-36534 03/27/21 “Still have throat and ear trouble and taking medicine. Have had this since the first shot. Does anyone read this ???!!!”
36. UAZ-61061-88619 04/21/21 “More eye issues…why report when nobody reads these and follows up? Oh never mind…the vaccine negativity cannot be shown to anyone”
37. Q7J-17375-77056 04/22/21 “Flu like symptoms with fever haven’t stopped why don’t you help me please I can’t take it?”

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We Cannot Trust the CDC Estimates of Flu Vaccine Effectiveness

Each year the CDC publishes an estimate of the effectiveness of the flu vaccine in the previous flu season. Recently, the NIH director criticized the test-negative design from which the estimates are derived. He was right. The basic premise of the design is a two-edged sword: on the one hand, restricting the sample to people who sought medical care might reduce confounding by healthcare-seeking behavior; on the other hand, that restriction might add another type of bias — colliding bias — which is not as widely appreciated. The net bias remains unknown.

This, however, is not the only shortcoming of test-negative case-control studies of the flu vaccine. In this post, I will expose the shaky results of a large study of the flu vaccine in 2022–2023, when the vaccine was well-matched to the dominant strain. The study was based on the VISION Vaccine Effectiveness Network, one of several networks that collaborate with the CDC. Below are the published results.

Given a changing risk of infection, a valid comparison of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated requires similar distributions of the two populations over time. This is not the case because vaccination is associated with calendar time (rollout).

[The authors show the vaccination status at the time of seeking care, but most people got vaccinated by the end of December, and the percentage of vaccinated people stabilized in January at about 45% of the encounters.]

As shown below (Table), the share of the vaccinated population in October through December (47%), a period of high background risk, was lower than the comparable share in the unvaccinated population (61%). Of course, the complementary shares in January through March, a period of low risk, were reversed: 53% versus 39%.

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In Shadow of Pending Lawsuit, CDC Again Recommends COVID Vaccines for Infants and Young Kids

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quietly reinstated its July 2025 COVID-19 vaccination recommendations, including recommending the vaccine for “off-label” use among infants and children, Maryanne Demasi, Ph.D., reported.

According to the CDC’s updated webpage, the agency now recommends the COVID-19 shot for all adults ages 18 and older and for children ages 6 months to 17 years who are moderately to severely immunocompromised.

For children not at high risk — including males ages 12-24, who have the highest risk for vaccine-associated myocarditis — the CDC recommends the vaccine based on shared clinical decision-making.

The updated recommendations conflict with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals for the vaccines.

There are currently no FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and adults younger than 64. For those younger than 65, the vaccines are only FDA-approved for those at high risk of COVID-19 illness, at various ages depending on the vaccine.

The CDC acknowledges that use of the vaccine in that age group would be an “off-label” use.

Latest changes may be tied to court order in ongoing lawsuit

In May 2025, the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the CDC would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children 6 months and older and healthy pregnant women.

In September 2025, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) made the changes official when members voted that for people ages 6 months to 64 years, COVID-19 vaccination should be based on “individual-based decision-making.”

However, a court-ordered stay in March 2026 froze those recommendations. To comply with that order, the CDC is now reverting to its early 2025 recommendations.

The court-ordered stay, issued by U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy, stemmed from an ongoing lawsuit filed in July 2025 by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and several other medical groups.

The groups sued Kennedy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women. They amended their lawsuit several times in response to new HHS and CDC policies and recommendations.

The U.S. Department of Justice is appealing Murphy’s ruling on behalf of Kennedy and HHS. Oral arguments are scheduled for Oct. 6 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit.

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CDC Officially Lists One Measles Death, as Agency Works to Create Standard Definition

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with state epidemiologists to create a standard definition for measles deaths.

The CDC launched the project earlier this summer, before Pennsylvania announced two “measles-associated” deaths, setting off a controversy after the coroner who reviewed the deaths contradicted Gov. Josh Shapiro and the state health department, telling the media that one of the deaths was not caused by measles.

“Pennsylvania may classify deaths as ‘measles-associated’ under its state surveillance definition, but CDC is working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) to establish a standardized definition for measles deaths to ensure consistent reporting across jurisdictions,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Press Secretary Grace Davis Jamison told The Defender.

“CDC will apply the same national standard to every state and report any measles-caused deaths when the National Center for Health Statistics identifies measles as the underlying cause based on death record information submitted by the states,” Jamison said.

On Aug. 25, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced two deaths, both infants, describing them as “measles-associated.” In mid-September, the state announced two additional deaths, including one of a 40-year-old woman with a long history of underlying illness.

The CDC measles surveillance page, updated today, displays an asterisk with only one recorded death in 2026. The accompanying note says, “This number is subject to change; CDC will update its reporting as additional information becomes available and relevant reviews are completed.”

The federal government recently revised how it counts measles deaths in response to ongoing scrutiny around whether the Pennsylvania fatalities labeled “measles-associated” were actually caused by measles.

The Guardian recently reported the CDC will base its measles death count on data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

The CDC updated its site today, only after the NCHS alerted the agency about a measles-related death, Jamison said.

“Through its standard process, NCHS verified that the death occurred and that measles was listed as the underlying cause of death,” Jamison told The Defender.

Previously, the CDC pulled its measles death figures from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS), which receives public health surveillance data from state, local and territorial health departments.

NCHS tracks only the official causes of death as reported on death certificates, while the NNDSS reports include additional information about a person’s health status at the time of their death.

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Leaked Data Show Israel Covered Up HUNDREDS of COVID Shot Deaths and Hospitalizations Within Weeks of Vaccine Rollout

A newly published peer-reviewed study has exposed an internal Israeli Ministry of Health pharmacovigilance dataset documenting 531 hospitalizations and 67 deaths within weeks of mass COVID-19 “vaccine” rollout.

Nearly half of all hospitalization reports involved myocarditis or pericarditis. Among people under 30, that figure surged to 151 of 211 (71.6%), including 48 patients under 18.

But the most important revelation was how early Israeli authorities had this information. By March 25, 2021, barely three months into the vaccine rollout, Israel had already reported to Pfizer 46 deaths, 157 hospitalizations, and 65 myocarditis/pericarditis cases. These were not retrospective estimates assembled years later; they came from an operational Ministry of Health pharmacovigilance dataset used to document serious events considered relevant enough to report directly to the manufacturer. The median reported interval from vaccination to death was just 3 days.

Israel had already alerted the CDC and European Medicines Agency to approximately 40 myocarditis cases by the end of February 2021. By March 25, the internal records contained the 46 deaths, 157 hospitalizations, and 65 myocarditis/pericarditis reports described above. Yet the study reconstructs a delay of roughly three to four months before the myocarditis signal was meaningfully communicated to clinicians and the public.

When the risk was finally acknowledged, the public messaging emphasized that myocarditis was “rare,” “mild,” and transient and that vaccination benefits outweighed the risks. That characterization was fraudulent given their internal record containing hundreds of serious hospitalizations, severe cardiac injury, and deaths.

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