US President Donald Trump made unfounded claims about the potential risks of Tylenol and vaccines during a White House news conference on Monday, reigniting long-debunked concerns about the links between Tylenol use, vaccines, and autism. His administration also announced a wide-ranging initiative to explore the causes of autism, a complex brain disorder.
During the press briefing, Trump instructed pregnant women, “Don’t take Tylenol,” the brand name for acetaminophen, urging mothers not to give the drug to infants either. He suggested that there may be a connection between acetaminophen use and autism, although he did not present any medical evidence to support his claim.
In a statement that lacked scientific backing, Trump also echoed discredited theories suggesting that vaccine ingredients or administering multiple vaccines too close together could contribute to the rise in autism rates in the US.
The announcement seemed to rely on existing studies rather than presenting new scientific findings. It comes as the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, supported by Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and anti-vaccine activists, seeks answers to autism’s causes.
The announcement also sheds light on Trump’s own long-held fascination with autism and his trepidation about the childhood vaccine schedule, even as the president has taken pride in his work to disseminate COVID-19 vaccines during his first term, reports AP/UNB.
Medical experts strongly criticised Trump’s remarks. Art Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University, called it “the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recycling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies, and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority.”
Trump also revealed that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would notify doctors that acetaminophen use “can be associated” with an increased risk of autism, though no immediate justification for this recommendation was provided.
Some studies have raised the possibility that taking acetaminophen during pregnancy might increase the risk of autism — but many others have not found that concern, said autism expert David Mandell of the University of Pennsylvania.
Trump also warned against giving Tylenol to young children, despite scientists emphasising that autism primarily develops in the fetal brain. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine maintained that Tylenol remains a safe option for managing fever and pain during pregnancy, with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists denouncing Trump’s statements as “irresponsible.”
In a statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration’s position, saying that it “does not believe popping more pills is always the answer for better health” and that the administration would continue its efforts, as “we know millions across America are grateful.”
Tylenol’s manufacturer, Kenvue, denied any link between the drug and autism, warning that without it, pregnant women may face the dangerous decision of either suffering from fevers or turning to riskier painkiller alternatives. Following the controversy, Kenvue’s stock dropped by 7.5%, losing about $2.6 billion in market value.
Kennedy, during the news conference, announced a new all-agency initiative, under Trump’s direction, to investigate the potential causes of autism—a subject that has been studied by scientists for decades.
FDA Commissioner Dr Marty Makary also took the stage to announce it was taking the first steps to try to approve a folic acid metabolite called leucovorin as a treatment option for patients believed to have low levels of folate in the brain. That may include some people with autism.
Leucovorin is used to counteract the side effects of various prescription drugs, including chemotherapy and other high-dose medications that can negatively impact the immune system. It works by boosting folate levels, a form of vitamin B that’s critical to the body’s production of healthy red blood cells.
Women already are told to take folic acid before conception and during pregnancy because it reduces the chances of certain birth defects known as neural tube defects.
Trump reiterated his support for vaccines but continued to assert without evidence that the timing of vaccines, when administered too closely together, might contribute to autism. This claim runs contrary to decades of scientific consensus, which has found no link between vaccines and autism. Anti-vaccine advocates, including Kennedy, have long promoted this debunked theory, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Autism, a developmental condition, affects 1 in 31 children in the US today, with the rise in cases attributed largely to updated diagnostic criteria that now include mild cases. Experts emphasise that there is no single cause of autism, pointing instead to a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors.
The administration’s actions, driven by Kennedy and his supporters, reflect their ongoing efforts to reshape America’s public health landscape, with ongoing controversies surrounding vaccine policies at federal health agencies.
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has seen internal divisions over vaccine recommendations, especially following a shift in guidance from a vaccine panel heavily influenced by anti-vaccine figures.
