By Eric Garcia

Copyright independent

President Donald Trump doubled down on his White House warning that pregnant women not take Tylenol lest their children develop autism spectrum disorder, while also promoting unfounded vaccine claims.

Trump made his claims on Truth Social Friday morning despite a forceful push from scientists, doctors’ groups, parents of autistic children and autism advocates.

“Pregnant Women, DON’T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON, BREAK UP THE MMR SHOT INTO THREE TOTALLY SEPARATE SHOTS (NOT MIXED!), TAKE CHICKEN P SHOT SEPARATELY, TAKE HEPATITAS B SHOT AT 12 YEARS OLD, OR OLDER, AND, IMPORTANTLY, TAKE VACCINE IN 5 SEPARATE MEDICAL VISITS!” he blasted out on Truth Social.

Numerous scientific studies have looked into the link between autism and acetaminophen, which is the active ingredient in the medicine cabinet staple Tylenol, and is known as paracetamol in Europe and elsewhere.

One 2024 study surveyed 2.5 million children in Sweden to investigate the link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and the risk of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disability. The study found that taking acetaminophen was “not associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analysis.”

Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have long postulated about a link between autism and the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella, also known as chickenpox, vaccine. Earlier this month, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to no longer recommend the MMRV vaccine for children younger than four.

There is no link between the MMRV vaccine and Andrew Wakefield, the author of the original study in the scientific journal The Lancet, would later lose his medical license and the study would be retracted.

This came after Kennedy had purged the 17-member panel in the summer and replaced them with many members who hold anti-vaccine views. In addition, Trump railed against giving hepatitis b vaccine to babies because he said that the disease is sexually transmitted, but it can also be transmitted through birth.

During their press conference, the Trump administration also said that it would establish leucovorin, a type of folic acid, as the “first recognized therapeutic” for autism. But so far, the sample studies have shown that leucovorin only benefits a subset of autistic children and the studies have only been on a small scale.

Later, the Food and Drug Administration released a statement put out a statement that included important caveats about the efficacy of acetaminophen.

“It is important to note that while an association between acetaminophen and neurological conditions has been described in many studies, a causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature,” it said.

“It is also noted that acetaminophen is the only over-the-counter drug approved for use to treat fevers during pregnancy, and high fevers in pregnant women can pose a risk to their children.”

Trump and Kennedy’s announcement is part of their larger focus on what they call the “autism epidemic.” Both have said they are alarmed about the increase in diagnoses of ASD.

But even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is under Kennedy’s jurisdiction, released its biennial report that attributed the 1 in 31 cases of ASD by the age of eight to improved testing practices and increased access to services.

-Julia Musto contributed to this reporting.