Little more than a month after making specious claims that there’s a link between Tylenol use and autism, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has now admitted there’s “not sufficient” evidence to support the medical nonsense he and President Donald Trump loudly and proudly promoted.

"The causative association between Tylenol given in pregnancy and the perinatal period is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism. But it is very suggestive,” Kennedy said Oct. 29.

OK, great. So the nation’s top health official is dispensing medical advice based on vibes?

This is yet another example of how utterly unqualified Kennedy is to be in charge of America’s health, and it’s what we get when a president staffs his Cabinet with quacks and conspiracy theorists.

Trump, Kennedy exuded dangerous confidence in linking autism to Tylenol and acetaminophen

On Sept. 22, Kennedy and Trump stood together and held a news conference that Trump had wildly billed as presenting “an answer to autism.”

After Trump babbled, with great certainty, that Tylenol is “associated with a very increased risk of autism,” Kennedy proudly announced: “Today, the (Food and Drug Administration) will issue a physician's notice about the risk of acetaminophen during pregnancy and begin the process to initiate a safety label change. HHS will launch a nationwide public service campaign to inform families and protect public health.”

That was, of course, baloney. Tylenol is safe, no reputable scientific or medical association supports claims of a connection between autism and Tylenol use during pregnancy, and the Kennedy/Trump announcement was widely panned as dangerous bunk.

Dr. Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement at the time: “Suggestions that acetaminophen use in pregnancy causes autism are not only highly concerning to clinicians but also irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients, including those who may need to rely on this beneficial medicine during pregnancy.”

Sadly, many Americans bought into Kennedy's lies about Tylenol

What the news conference did was stir up unnecessary fear and uncertainty in the minds of pregnant women and families of children with autism. It promoted false medical information to the masses with an air of authority, and polling now shows the extent of the damage.

A KFF tracking poll released earlier this month found that 77% of Americans had heard about Kennedy’s B.S. claims “that taking Tylenol during pregnancy increases the risk of the child developing autism.”

When parents start believing RFK Jr.'s medical advice, we have a problem

Among all respondents who are parents, a whopping 36% believe those claims are probably true. Among Republicans overall, 50% believe the garbage Trump and Kennedy peddled.

That is, in medical terms, not good. And making it worse is the fact that anyone trusting Trump and Kennedy on health matters relating to Tylenol is also liable to be sucked into their dangerous and false beliefs that vaccines cause autism.

Simply put: When dumb people are in charge of important things, dumb stuff happens.

Kennedy doubled down on the Tylenol, autism link – up until he didn't

During an Oct. 9 Cabinet meeting – shortly after that initial press conference where Trump repeated the words “Don't take Tylenol!” an ominous number of times – Kennedy said: “Anybody who takes the stuff during pregnancy unless they have to, is irresponsible. It is not proof. We’re doing the studies to make the proof.”

Yeah, that’s not how studies work.

At that same meeting, Kennedy drove straight into Crazytown and said: “There are two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. It’s highly likely because they’re given Tylenol.”

No. No it’s not.

If the dude at the end of the bar was saying this crap, you’d move to a booth or to another bar. But remember, this is the actual U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services saying it.

Trump is still parroting RFK Jr.'s unproven Tylenol claims. So is Texas.

Based on Kennedy’s new comment that there’s “not sufficient” evidence to prove a link between Tylenol and autism, the whole reckless charade seems to be falling apart.

That’s particularly funny when you consider that Trump hasn’t stopped babbling about it since the initial press conference. As recently as Oct. 26, the president posted on social media: “Pregnant Women, DON’T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON.”

And Texas’ Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit against the makers of Tylenol on Oct. 28. It includes this gem ‒ “The reckoning has arrived. Last month, the federal government confirmed what Defendants knew for years: acetaminophen use during pregnancy likely causes conditions like ASD and ADHD. Given how widely acetaminophen is used and how prevalent these conditions are, Defendants face tens of billions of dollars in damages to permanently injured children.”

That suit was probably going to be laughed out of court anyway, but Kennedy’s new comments about a lack of evidence make the laughing all but a certainty.

Still, I don’t find myself chuckling much at Kennedy’s buffoonery. As that polling showed, people listen to him and Trump. And people are going to get sick – or worse – because these two ignorant, dishonest old men think they know what they’re talking about.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kennedy admits Tylenol, autism link evidence is 'not sufficient.' It's too late. | Opinion

Reporting by Rex Huppke, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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