President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, has told senators that she believes people should “take the measles vaccine,” according to her written remarks obtained by MS NOW.
The nominee’s clarification comes after she declined at a public hearing last month to say whether she would directly recommend Americans get vaccinated against the disease, prompting senators to request her written illumination on the subject.
“I stand with Dr. Oz’s message to Americans to take the measles vaccine,” Means wrote in a set of responses to questions from members of the Senate health committee, making an apparent nod to Mehmet Oz, director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who said last month on CNN, “Take the vaccine, please.”
If confirmed as surgeon general, Means, a wellness entrepreneur, would assume the role of the “Nation’s Doctor,” charged with bringing “the best scientific information to the public” and “communicating directly with the public,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services website.
Surgeons general have previously led seasonal flu campaigns and publicly urged vaccination.
But when asked twice at the hearing by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the committee’s chairman, whether she would encourage parents to get their children the measles vaccine, Means did not directly answer. “I am not an individual’s doctor,” she said, while stating she was “absolutely supportive of the measles vaccine.”
“I do believe vaccines save lives and are an important part of the public health strategy,” she added during the hearing.
In her written responses submitted this week, Means said, “I agree with the new acting director of the CDC Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who said, ‘The MMR vaccine remains the most reliable and effective way to prevent’ measles. I view the measles outbreak as largely preventable with the MMR vaccine.”
Three children died of measles last year, according to the CDC, and a current outbreak in South Carolina has risen to nearly 1,000 cases, the state’s health department reported on Friday.
Public health officials have expressed concern about the growing prevalence of measles, which the United States declared “eliminated” in 2000.
Immunization rates for measles and other childhood vaccines have declined in recent years, according to CDC data, and some top health officials in the Trump administration have expressed skepticism about the safety of vaccines even though vaccines must undergo safety testing before being licensed for use by the FDA.
In her written answers, Means, when asked whether she believes vaccines are “safe and effective,” responded, “I believe that vaccines are a key part of infectious disease public health strategy, and the FDA determines whether they are safe and effective.”
To get confirmed, Means will need the support of a majority of the 21-member Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Her nomination would then go to the full Senate for a vote.
Will McDuffie is a reporter for MS NOW.