President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the nation’s top doctor said she’s not ready to rule out anything — including vaccines — in determining what’s behind rising autism rates.
Members of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee questioned Dr. Casey Means, Trump’s pick for surgeon general, during a confirmation hearing Wednesday.
Means graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine, but dropped out of her residency program and is now a wellness influencer and entrepreneur. She has expressed skepticism about vaccines and she does not currently have an active medical license.
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Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who is himself a doctor, pressed Means on whether she believes vaccines contribute to autism.
“The reality is that we have an autism crisis that’s increasing. And this is devastating to many families, and we do not know as a medical community, what causes autism,” she said. “Until we have a clear understanding of why kids are developing this at higher rates, I think we should not leave any stones unturned.”
Cassidy told Means that there is “a lot of evidence” showing that vaccines do not cause autism.
“I do accept that evidence,” Means said. “I also think that science is never settled.”
Autism has been a major focus of the Trump administration’s health agenda and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a long-time vaccine skeptic. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated a page on its website which had indicated that vaccines do not cause autism to suggest that the science is unsettled. The agency also said that it would award a grant to study a link between vaccines and autism.
A multitude of medical and autism advocacy groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the Autism Science Foundation and Autism Speaks say that extensive research shows that there is no link between vaccines and autism.
If Means is confirmed as surgeon general, she would wield significant influence. The surgeon general can issue advisories, calls to action and reports and is tasked with providing Americans with the “best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce their risk of illness and injury,” according to HHS.
