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Updated September 23, 2025, at 1:16 p.m.
Harvard School of Public Health Dean Andrea A. Baccarelli met in recent weeks with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’76 and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya to discuss the dean’s study linking acetaminophen to autism, according to a statement by Baccarelli posted on an official White House X account.
Baccarelli, who co-authored a review article that associated acetaminophen use during pregnancy to autism in children, wrote to the White House that he appreciated the interest from Kennedy and Bhattacharya. That statement was then posted on X by White House Press Secretary Karoline C. Leavitt and the administration’s “Rapid Response 47” account.
The conversations took place in phone calls between Baccarelli and Kennedy and, separately, Bhattacharya, according to an HSPH spokesperson.
The statement, which was not posted to the Harvard Public Health School’s website or shared publicly by Baccarelli, followed a White House press conference on Monday where Donald Trump, accompanied by Kennedy and Bhattacharya, alleged that exposure to acetaminophen causes autism in children. While Trump did not mention Harvard by name, Food and Drug Commissioner Marty A. Makary cited Harvard studies as evidence for the assertion at the press conference.
“To quote the dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, there is a causal relationship between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder,” Makary said.
Trump also said that the drug, also known as Tylenol, taken during pregnancy may be associated with a “very increased” autism risk.
“Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it,” he said. “Fight like hell not to take it.”
Baccarelli’s statement, however, argues only that there is a “possibility of a causal relationship,” and calls for further study.
Kennedy announced at the press conference that the FDA will initiate the process to include the autism risk on the safety labels of products containing acetaminophen. He has long argued, without evidence, that vaccines cause autism. The claim was a staple of his short run for president in 2024, and Kennedy has made finding a cause for autism a core part of his agenda as HHS Secretary.
Released in August, Baccarelli’s review of previously published human studies was funded by a grant from the NIH that was terminated as part of a $2.2 billion federal funding cut for Harvard. The dean wrote the review article alongside researchers from Mount Sinai, University of California Los Angeles, and University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Baccarelli’s grant was reinstated after a U.S. district court judge ruled earlier this month that the Trump administration’s original cut was unconstitutional. Two weeks after the decision, money from the federal government began flowing to Harvard on Friday.
According to Baccarelli’s study, acetaminophen is used by more than 50 percent of pregnant women across the globe to mitigate fever and pain during pregnancy. It is one of the only options as other pain and fever reducers have seen adverse effects, according to the HHS.
“As the only approved medication for pain and fever reduction during pregnancy, acetaminophen remains an important tool for pregnant patients and their physicians,” Baccarelli wrote in his statement to the Trump administration, noting that high fever can also harm mothers.
A spokesperson for HSPH declined to comment on the White House’s use of the research, referring to Baccarelli’s statement.
Clarification: September 23, 2025
This article has been updated to clarify that the meeting between Harvard School of Public Health Dean Andrea A. Baccarelli, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya took place via phone. Baccarelli did not meet Kennedy or Bhattacharya in person.
Correction: September 23, 2025
A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to a discussion between Baccarelli, Kennedy, and Bhattacharya. In fact, the discussion took place across separate phone calls.
—Staff writer Abigail S. Gerstein can be reached at abigail.gerstein@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @abbysgerstein.
