In his first press conference since becoming head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wednesday addressed the rising cases of autism nationwide since 2020. “This is a preventable disease. We know it's environmental exposure. It has to be. Genes do not cause epidemics,” Kennedy said. In roughly two or three weeks, the Republican said new studies on environmental toxins linked to the "epidemic" will begin.