Surgeon General Nominee Casey Means Sidesteps Vaccine Questions

Surgeon general nominee Casey Means told senators Wednesday that she could not directly recommend that mothers vaccinate their children because she’s not “an individual’s doctor.”

“Every individual needs to talk to their doctor before putting medication in their body,” Means said during her confirmation hearing as senators confronted her about her views on the Make America Healthy Again movement’s anti-vaccine agenda.

It was a striking statement from the woman nominated to serve as “the nation’s doctor,” as the surgeon general is commonly known. Vaccines have taken center stage thanks to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose agency has cut vaccine recommendations and amplified misinformation. But Means, a Kennedy ally, attempted to remove herself from that debate.

“I am not here to complicate the issue on vaccines,” Means said in response to questions from Sen. Bernie Sanders, the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

“Vaccines, vaccine advocacy, or anti-vaccine rhetoric has not been part of my message,” Means said.

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Means, who went to medical school but dropped out of a residency program and does not have an active medical license, has cast some skepticism on vaccines in the past. But her platform as a wellness influencer and her business are more focused on “holistic health.”

During the hearing she did allude to an issue Kennedy and his anti-vaccine followers have elevated.

“We do not know as a medical community what causes autism,” she told Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician and the chair of the committee. Research has shown that vaccines do not cause autism, and that a rise in autism rates can be attributed to a range of factors, including environmental exposures and improved diagnostic tools.

Means told the committee that as surgeon general, she would focus on reversing chronic disease. Surgeon generals have historically focused their work on a myriad of issues, like smoking and obesity.

“I think you will be frustrated by how much I will be talking about ultraprocessed foods,” Means said.

But committee members, including Cassidy, were eager to hear Means’ opinion on the most divisive public health issues. Cassidy pressed Means on whether she supported access to abortion medication mifepristone without an in-person visit.

“I absolutely think that oral contraception should be widely accessible,” Means said.

Means’ hearing before HELP came after a lengthy delay — she went into labor on her original hearing date in October — and during a turbulent period for the MAHA movement and its leaders at the Department of Health and Human Services.

She was accompanied to her confirmation hearing by her brother, HHS senior adviser Calley Means, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Brian Christine, and, in another room, her newborn son.

Means has an unusual background for a surgeon general nominee. She started a company, Levels, that provides continuous glucose monitoring for a subscription fee.

Means fielded questions from some Democratic senators about her financial interests, including her endorsements of supplements and her company’s use of a subscription structure.

“If it inadvertently has happened, I would rectify it immediately,” Means said in response to questioning from Sen. Chris Murphy about whether she disclosed financial relationships with products she promoted.

She was also asked by Sen. Andy Kim if she was planning on reactivating her medical license.

“I do not plan to reactivate it because I’m not going to be seeing patients in this role,” Means said.

Means also co-wrote a wellness book, “Good Energy,” with her brother. At one point during the hearing, Sen. Susan Collins could be seen flipping through a sticky-note-annotated copy of the book.

Collins then asked Means if she would encourage people to try psychedelics if confirmed as surgeon general, as she details an experience with psilocybin in “Good Energy.”

Means said she believed there was “exciting work” happening in the field of psychedelics, but “what I would say as a private citizen is in many cases different than what I would say as a public health official.”

Though she added that she believes “Americans are ready to hear about spirituality as it pertains to medicine.”

Means also drew scrutiny from Republican senators for her views against pesticide use, raising concerns about the impact on farming. Sen. Jon Husted, the Ohio Republican, displayed a large poster of pests eating an ear of corn.

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order declaring certain pesticides critical to national security, drawing the ire of some in the MAHA movement who seek to reduce pesticide use.

Means seemed to align herself with the MAHA movement when questioned on the subject.

“This administration is committed to understanding what is in our food,” said Means. She said pesticides, fungicides and insecticides were all things the administration should investigate for health risks.

“We do need to understand how these chemicals are affecting our bodies,” Means said.