President Donald Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz held a press conference at the White House today to announce the findings of a recent study linking autism in children with the pain reliever Tylenol. The President called for:
- Warning labels on the active ingredient in Tylenol, acetaminophen for pregnant women
- US Food and Drug Administration to initiate the approval of leucovorin calcium tablets for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other conditions associated with cerebral folate deficiency.
Autism rates have skyrocketed to 1 in 31 children today, leading many public health officials to declare it an epidemic, citing a nearly 300% increase in the last 20 years, with a consistent increase of 10% to 20% increase every two years. Secretary Kennedy has often mentioned autism rates as part of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again campaign.
Industry representatives and physician groups have promoted competing or mitigating factors to an environmental toxin as the cause. Increased screening leads to increased diagnosis, for example. Genetics also play an enormous role in determining whether someone gets ASD. However, Dr Jay Bhattacharya commented that “genetics alone can not explain such an increase.”
Kennedy contends the cause of ASD “has to be an environmental toxin.” He calls the opposition “epidemic deniers” has sometimes become a lightning rod for his skeptical views on safety and efficacy of certain vaccines, especially the COVID-19 vaccine. 40% to 70% of parents of children with autism (according to Kennedy) blame vaccines, and so he also recommitted his investigation to the possible link between vaccines and ASD. Kennedy noted to the mothers in the room “we need to stop gaslighting them and start listening to them.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) President Dr Steven Fleischman downplayed the announcement and predicted “no immediate change” in the guidance the group would give to its members. Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol contends “independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism.”
HHS Administrator Mehmet Oz said that the leucovorin prescriptions would be immediately covered by Medicaid and CHIP, and expected private insurers to quickly cover the drugs for the treatment for ASD.