Autism-Paracetamol Link: WHO trashes Trump’s claim on autism
Washington: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said that evidence of a link between the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and autism remains inconsistent. "The evidence remains inconsistent," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said during a press briefing in Geneva.
The response came after US President Donald Trump on Monday linked autism to childhood vaccine use and the taking of popular pain medication Tylenol (commonly known as paracetamol in other parts of the world) by women when pregnant.
"We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I said, save countless lives. So, this is something that science has proven, and these things should not be really questioned," WHO spokesperson added.
Earlier in the day, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had also said that there was no new evidence that would require changes to the region's current recommendations for the use of paracetamol during pregnancy.
On Monday, Trump claimed that women should avoid acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol in the United States, during pregnancy, saying it may be linked to rising autism rates in the country. “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 during the presser. He, however, did not present any new evidence to prove his claim.
Trump also linked unproven concerns about vaccines and their contributions to the rising rates of autism in the US. “I would say, wait until the baby is 12 years old and formed,” Trump said while referring to the vaccines for children.
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was also present during the briefing, said that he would launch an “all-agency” effort to identify all causes of autism, involving the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, at President Trump's direction.
Trump had earlier teased the autism announcement as a big one, saying, “I think we found an answer to autism."
