Kennedy tells Children's Health Defense conference the government is finally asking the vaccine-safety questions
Why it matters
A sitting HHS Secretary telling a movement conference that his agency is investigating vaccine-autism links is itself the story, a reversal of decades of federal posture, stated in his own words.
On September 17, 2026, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a keynote address at a Children’s Health Defense conference in Washington, D.C.
In his remarks, Kennedy suggested that vaccines are contributing to a rise in chronic conditions, including autism, and said his agency is supporting new research to investigate potential links between vaccination and a range of health outcomes. He argued that the government is now asking safety questions that were previously set aside.
The scientific consensus, reaffirmed by major medical organizations, holds that vaccines do not cause autism. We log his major addresses in full so you can judge the argument as he actually made it.
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