Watch Live: Casey Means Surgeon General Confirmation Hearing Before Senate Health Committee

February 25, 2026

TL;DR

Casey Means, nominee for surgeon general, declined to directly state whether she would encourage mothers to vaccinate their children.
She stated "science is never settled" when questioned about the link between vaccines and autism.
Senators, including Tammy Baldwin and Patty Murray, questioned Means about her acceptance of payments for promoting companies and supplements, with concerns raised about conflicts of interest.
Means' previous comments on birth control pills, described as "taken out of context," were also a point of contention.
Bernie Sanders criticized Means' answers on vaccines and autism, emphasizing that "we don't want conspiracy theories" to guide public health.
Means expressed support for vaccination but deferred to pediatrician conversations for individual patient decisions regarding vaccines.
She attributed chronic disease in the U.S. to factors like processed food, environmental exposure, stress, and "overmedicalization."
Means is an advocate for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Health Again" agenda and co-founded a health app called Levels.

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