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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Thursday reasserted the unproven link between the pain reliever Tylenol and autism, and suggested people who opposed the theory were motivated by hatred for President Donald Trump. During a meeting with Trump and the Cabinet, Kennedy reiterated the connection, even while noting there was no medical proof to substantiate the claim. He also mistakenly described a pregnant woman’s anatomy and linked autism to circumcision. (Beaumont and Ungar, 10/9)

Overall, women are more likely than men to think that the link between autism and Tylenol’s active ingredient, acetaminophen, is “definitely false,” according to the survey. However, a divide becomes clear when the data is broken down by party: 54 percent of Republican women think the connection is definitely or probably true, while only 13 percent of Democratic women believe the same. Thirty-four percent of Independent women think the connection is probably or definitely true.  (Mithani, 10/9)

One study aims to examine children with autism from across the country to see what may be driving the increase in diagnoses. Another will explore the genetic data of more than 2 million people to examine what environmental exposures might influence autism. And other studies will examine how diet affects autism, adults who have it and how to improve care for those who have been diagnosed. (Chiu and Eunjung Cha, 10/9)

The CDC’s vaccine advisers will review the safety and efficacy of the childhood vaccine schedule, including the timing of shots given to kids and possible risks associated with common vaccine ingredients, according to a document posted Thursday to the agency’s website. A work group within the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will gather information as part of a “multi-year effort” to inform future recommendations on a raft of issues that vaccine skeptics — including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have floated as possible drivers of chronic and neurodevelopmental conditions like autism despite ample research refuting most of their claims. (Gardner and Gardner, 10/9)

A new �鶹Ů�� poll taken in the days after President Donald Trump linked acetaminophen use in pregnancy to autism—and said the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine should be separated into three monovalent (single-strain) shots—shows public trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now at its lowest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The poll also showed low support for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who also made the unsupported acetaminophen (Tylenol) link to autism. (Soucheray, 10/9)

HHS agencies have seen yet another flurry of personnel changes: Four institute directors have been fired from the NIH; acting directors replaced two CDC leaders who resigned in the wake of the firing of Susan Monarez, PhD; and the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) announced several promotions. The four fired NIH institute directors had been in professional limbo since they were placed on administrative leave during the Trump administration's April 1 layoffs, Science reported. (Fiore, 10/9)