Controversial Autism-Vaccine Study Grant Raises Eyebrows

Federal health officials plan to grant Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute a contract to examine potential links between autism and vaccines. This initiative, led partly by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, has sparked debate as prior studies found no link. Critics question the allocation of resources to this research.

Devdiscourse News Desk | Newyork | Updated: 13-09-2025 03:03 IST | Created: 13-09-2025 03:03 IST

Controversial Autism-Vaccine Study Grant Raises Eyebrows — This image is AI-generated and does not depict any real-life event or location. It is a fictional representation created for illustrative purposes only.

Federal health officials are set to grant a contract to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to explore a possible association between vaccinations and autism, revealed a recent government procurement notice.

RPI, located in Troy, New York, received this no-bid contract due to its 'unique ability' to connect data on children and mothers, according to the announcement posted recently.

Department of Health and Human Services officials have yet to provide details on the contract's value or the researchers' exact objectives. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a prominent anti-vaccine figure before his federal health oversight role, declared a significant testing and research initiative in April to identify autism's cause by this month.