Health agencies "not creating an autism registry," official says, contradicting NIH director
CBSN
A Department of Health and Human Services official said Friday that the health department is not creating an autism registry, contradicting an announcement made days ago by the director of the National Institutes of Health describing his plans to study causes of autism.
"We are not creating an autism registry. The real-world data platform will link existing datasets to support research into causes of autism and insights into improved treatment strategies," an official for the department told CBS News in an emailed statement.
The plans outlined by NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to amass a broad swath of confidential health data, as part of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s autism research effort, have been the subject of intense criticism in recent days by advocacy groups and autism researchers.
