I was hoping that when HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. linked autism to acetaminophen, people would stop blaming vaccines and worry about this new pseudoscience.
But the anti-vaccine folks are so tied to their ideas that even The Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group RFK Jr. previously represented, retweeted a post on X that said: “THIS WAS NOT CAUSED BY TYLENOL.” (Capital letters are theirs, not ours.) And CHD CEO Mary Holland, speaking on Steve Bannon’s podcast War Room, called the press conference announcing the link “a sideshow” and insisted that vaccines, not Tylenol, were the primary cause of autism.
President Donald J. Trump blamed Tylenol, the brand name for acetaminophen, AND vaccines, so there was no reprieve there.
The evidence for a link between acetaminophen and autism is about as rigorous as the evidence linking vaccines to autism, so there was backlash from the usual channels, including the Autism Science Foundation.But I was surprised RFK Jr.’s supporters turned on him so quickly.
Larry Pickering, MD, who died earlier this year, would talk with me about fighting vaccine hesitancy. “We just have to show them the science,” he used to insist.
I think the reaction to RFK Jr.’s announcement is evidence of one thing: Just talking about science is not the answer. The debate over vaccines is no longer a scientific discussion; it has morphed into belief.
That isn’t to say we don’t talk about or base decisions on science, but we need the support of celebrities, pastors, community leaders and politicians, and we need to take the message to the people—through social media and pro-vaccine events.
When I got my first COVID-19 shot, I had to travel 60 miles to a community college where there were festive signs and bunting, rock music blaring and a woman dressed like a fairy princess wiping down chairs. It was downright festive. But the message was clear: By vaccinating, we were not only helping ourselves, we were doing our bit to fight the pandemic and helping our friends and family.
That emotional connection is what we need to capture.
In addition, we must contact our local, state and federal representatives and remind them who they represent. They represent us, and most of us (79%) understand the value of vaccinations for our children (debeaumont.org/news/2025/poll-79-of-americans-support-routine-childhood-vaccine-requirements/) and, I’m assuming, for ourselves.
This article is from the October 2025 print issue.