Today, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to find out what is driving the

country's rise in autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, after a new report from the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, said that rate had continued to climb.

The ASD prevalence rate in eight-year-olds is now one in 31.

Shocking.

There's an extreme risk for boys.

Overall, the risk for boys of getting an autism diagnosis in this country is now one in 20.

The CDC said the increase was most likely driven by better screening and diagnosis,

which Kennedy rejected. Separately, there are reports that the CDC plans to study a supposed

connection between autism and vaccines, despite dozens of studies showing no connection between

the two. Allie Rogan digs into the science.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has recently delivered contradictory messages on vaccines.

In one interview recommending them. It's one thing to say the measles vaccine is the best way of preventing spread, but it's another thing to then say, and therefore, we suggest that you

get the measles vaccine. Are you encourage people to get the measles vaccine? While in another,

again raising questions about a link between vaccines and autism that has been thoroughly studied and

debunked. The studies that they did were very, very narrow. More than 25 years ago, a

supposed link between autism and the measles, mumps, and rebella vaccine was put forward by British

Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist and surgeon, who in 1998 authored this study in the

Lancet Medical Journal. The study was based on just 12 cases of vaccinated

children but contained no control group, patients who hadn't been vaccinated for comparison,

and it relied on parents' memories rather than official records. It was quickly criticized

for its flaws and later revealed that Wakefield hadn't disclosed conflicts of interest,

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