Geneva — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday dismissed claims by U.S. President Donald Trump linking paracetamol use in pregnancy and childhood vaccines to autism, saying the evidence remains “inconsistent.”
“The evidence remains inconsistent,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told reporters in Geneva, when asked about Trump’s remarks. He reaffirmed that vaccines do not cause autism. “Vaccines, as I said, save countless lives. This is something science has proven, and these things should not really be questioned,” Jašarević added.
Trump, during a press briefing on Monday, had suggested that women avoid Tylenol (acetaminophen), commonly used for pain relief, during pregnancy, claiming it may contribute to rising autism rates in the U.S. He also repeated long-debunked concerns linking vaccines to autism, despite no scientific evidence supporting such claims.
“I’ll say it. It’s not good. For this reason, they are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary,” Trump said, though he offered no new data to back his assertion. On vaccines, he controversially suggested parents “wait until the baby is 12 years old and formed” before administering childhood shots.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., standing alongside Trump, announced an “all-agency” effort to probe possible causes of autism. The initiative, he said, would involve the National Institutes of Health, FDA, CDC, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also weighed in earlier in the day, stating that no new evidence warranted any change to existing guidelines on the safe use of paracetamol during pregnancy.
Trump had teased his comments as a “big reveal,” telling reporters, “I think we found an answer to autism.” His remarks, however, have sparked concern among global health experts over the spread of misinformation around essential medicines and vaccines.
