Public Health Leadership and Vaccine Policy

At her Feb. 25 Senate confirmation hearing, surgeon general nominee Casey Means said "every individual needs to talk to their doctor before putting a medication in their body" when asked whether she would urge measles vaccination, adding that "vaccines save lives" and she is "supportive of vaccination" but stopping short of explicitly encouraging people to get vaccinated. Pressed by Chair Bill Cassidy — who cited nearly 1,000 measles cases and two child deaths in west Texas and warned the U.S. could lose its measles elimination status — Means declined to rule out a vaccine–autism link, saying the medical community does not yet know what causes autism, "science is never settled," and she supports further study while emphasizing her focus on chronic disease and root causes.