A Vaccine Skeptic Has Been Hired To Lead A Controversial Autism Study — And Medical Experts Are Appalled

The study will now be led by David Geier, who has falsely claimed that vaccines cause autism.

The vaccine skepticism of the current administration is well known at this point. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has a history of sharing misinformation about vaccines, and both Kennedy and President Donald Trump have spread the idea that vaccines are linked to autism, a notion that has been debunked time and time again.

But the fact that this idea has been disproven is not stopping the Trump administration from establishing a large-scale federal study looking at the “link” between vaccines and autism, and the Washington Post reported that David Geier, a known vaccine skeptic, has been hired to head the analysis.

Geier’s leadership role was reported to the Washington Post by anonymous federal health officials.

According to the Washington Post, Geier has touted anti-vaccine beliefs and, along with his father, has published papers, including some that are now retracted, about the “link” between vaccines and autism, which has, once again, been debunked.

Tara Smith, a professor of epidemiology, told HuffPost that she is appalled by this appointment. “The Geiers (David and his father, Mark) were among the first to publish a link between thimerosal [a vaccine ingredient] and autism,” Smith said.