Surgeon general nominee won't say she urges vaccination
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Surgeon General nominee Casey Means said during a confirmation hearing Wednesday that she believes vaccines save lives but did not unequivocally urge people to get vaccinated.
The big picture: The nutrition influencer and ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced tough questioning from Senate health committee chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) over how she would handle vaccine messaging as the nation's top doctor.
- Pressed on whether she would encourage vaccination against measles amid a series of outbreaks across the country, Means said: "Every individual needs to talk to their doctor before putting a medication in their body."
- She did say broadly that "vaccines save lives" and "I'm supportive of vaccination."
Between the lines: Cassidy, who has clashed with Kennedy over vaccine policy, repeatedly pressed Means, at one point asking her whether she thinks vaccines cause autism, a view that's been promoted by Kennedy but widely discredited by the medical community.
- Means did not rule out a linkage and said she supported continuing to study the question. "We do not know as a medical community what causes autism," she said. "Science is never settled."
What they're saying: Cassidy spoke out in favor of vaccines, pointing to measles outbreaks in Texas last year and a current one in South Carolina that's led to nearly 1,000 cases.
- "We've had two children die from measles in west Texas," he said. "You're a mom, we're on the verge of losing our measles elimination status."
The big picture: Means sought to downplay the importance of vaccines to her worldview, saying that she is focused on fighting rising levels of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
- Means was educated as a physician at Stanford University before dropping out of her residency program to focus on root causes of disease.
- Her hearing was originally scheduled for October but postponed after she went into labor with her first child.
