Dr. Nicole Saphier told senators she supports routine measles and hepatitis B vaccination and does not believe childhood vaccines cause autism as she seeks confirmation to become surgeon general.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. surgeon general endorsed major childhood vaccinations and rejected a connection between vaccines and autism Wednesday as senators questioned her about immunization policy and scientific independence within the Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Nicole Saphier appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as Trump’s third nominee for the vacant surgeon general position during his second term. If confirmed, she would become the first person to serve as surgeon general during the current administration. The Senate committee formally considered her nomination alongside nominees for deputy HHS secretary and assistant secretary for mental health and substance use.
Saphier, 44, directly endorsed the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine during questioning about the continuing debate over childhood immunization policy.
She described the MMR vaccine as “our greatest tool in combating measles epidemics.”
When senators pressed her on claims that vaccinations can cause autism, Saphier also gave a direct response.
“I do not believe childhood vaccines cause autism,” she said.
Large bodies of scientific research have found no causal association between vaccines and autism, a conclusion reflected by major medical organizations and decades of research, although the Trump administration has continued examining the issue and has made changes to federal vaccine policy.
Saphier also expressed support for hepatitis B vaccination for newborns, an issue that has become a point of disagreement within federal health policy.
She told the committee she supports the longstanding recommendation that virtually all infants receive a hepatitis B vaccine dose shortly after birth.
That position differs from changes pursued under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose department moved away from universal recommendations for several childhood vaccines, including hepatitis B. A federal judge in March blocked key portions of those changes and effectively restored the previous childhood vaccination schedule while litigation continues.
Saphier’s positions consequently placed some distance between her testimony and vaccine policies pursued by other senior figures in the administration she would serve.
Kennedy has supported measles vaccination while also emphasizing potential side effects and individual choice. He has overseen broader attempts to restructure the federal childhood vaccination schedule, including reducing the number of vaccines recommended universally for children. Some of those changes have been blocked in court.
Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician, made vaccine science a central subject of Wednesday’s hearing.
Cassidy said health officials have an obligation to acknowledge conclusions supported by established evidence rather than “declaring things contrary to evidence to be unsafe.”
The Louisiana senator has repeatedly emphasized that extensive research does not support a causal relationship between routine childhood vaccines and autism. He has also defended vaccination against measles and hepatitis B as important public health measures.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., likewise emphasized the importance of vaccine policy as she questioned the nominees.
Baldwin said the country needs HHS leaders “that understand and affirm the longstanding scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and effective,” particularly while communities continue confronting measles outbreaks.
Saphier’s confirmation hearing comes during an unusually active period for federal vaccine policy.
The CDC’s childhood immunization recommendations have undergone repeated changes and legal challenges since Kennedy became health secretary. In January, federal officials reduced the number of vaccinations routinely recommended for children, including changing the status of hepatitis B immunization. A federal court later halted those changes after concluding that the administration had improperly reconstituted the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and made policy changes without the required advisory process.
Trump subsequently signed an executive order in August calling for a reduced routine childhood vaccine schedule and directing additional federal action regarding state vaccination requirements. The order retained universal recommendations for vaccines including measles, polio, tetanus and pertussis while removing several others, including hepatitis B, from the universal list.
The autism issue has also become a recurring point of dispute.
The administration has reopened examination of whether vaccines could contribute to autism despite longstanding research finding no causal relationship. Kennedy has previously sought additional federal research on the issue, while medical organizations and vaccine researchers maintain that the question has been extensively studied and that available evidence does not establish such a link.
Saphier’s testimony put her squarely on the side of the established scientific conclusion when senators asked her directly about autism.
Her comments also provided senators with a clearer picture of how she could approach the surgeon general’s role, which is centered heavily on communicating public health information to Americans rather than directly setting most federal health regulations.
Saphier is a radiologist and director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth in New Jersey. She previously worked as a medical contributor for Fox News and has spoken publicly on health policy and federal medical guidance.
Her financial relationships also came under review as part of the confirmation process.
In an ethics disclosure, Saphier said she would divest from holdings that could present conflicts with her federal responsibilities, including interests in pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.
She also said she would resign from Empower MD LLC, which owns DropRx, a company associated with dietary tincture products, if confirmed. Her filing identifies additional holdings in health care, insurance, food and other companies that she would fully or partially divest when required to resolve conflicts.
The ethics commitments are intended to address potential conflicts if she assumes a federal public health position that involves communicating government recommendations affecting pharmaceutical companies, health systems and consumers.
Saphier is Trump’s third choice for surgeon general during his second term.
His two earlier nominees did not win Senate confirmation. The nomination of Dr. Casey Means, who immediately preceded Saphier, was withdrawn after opposition emerged among senators from both parties, including concerns from some Republicans about her qualifications and vaccine positions. Senate records confirm that Means’ nomination was withdrawn before Saphier was nominated.
Those earlier difficulties have placed additional attention on Saphier’s position on vaccines as she moves through the confirmation process.
Republicans hold the Senate majority and control the HELP Committee, but Saphier must first receive sufficient committee support for her nomination to advance before the full Senate can consider confirmation.
Her testimony Wednesday provided senators with several direct answers on issues that complicated the administration’s previous surgeon general nominations.
She endorsed MMR vaccination as the principal tool for controlling measles outbreaks, supported hepatitis B immunization for newborns and rejected the proposition that childhood vaccinations cause autism.
Those statements also establish areas where Saphier’s public health positions do not fully overlap with some of the vaccine-policy changes pursued under Kennedy.
If the committee advances her nomination and the Senate confirms her, Saphier would assume the surgeon general’s post at a time when federal vaccination recommendations, public confidence in health agencies and disagreements over the scientific basis for vaccine policy remain prominent issues within HHS.
Original article
Comments