Means appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Wednesday, about four months after her initial hearing was rescheduled when she went into labor just hours before it was meant to begin.
From a political standpoint, Means is shoo-in for the role, being the sister of White House senior adviser Calley Means and a prominent social media influencer who promotes multiple nets of the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) agenda.
Means, 38, would be the first millennial surgeon general if confirmed and has shared many of her thoughts and opinions online as an influencer, which provided HELP committee members with plenty of fodder to question her on.
But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were apprehensive about her immunization views. She's previously called the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose a "crime" and claimed the prior U.S. immunization schedule caused health declines in children.
She faced prolonged lines of questioning about her vaccination views by several committee members, including Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
Means sought to characterize her previous rhetoric about vaccines to be more about informed consent and autonomy than about the vaccines themselves.
"Like you, I'm a physician. I believe vaccines save lives. I believe that vaccines are a key part of ... any infectious disease public health strategy," Means told HELP Committee Chair Cassidy.
"I'm supportive of vaccination. I do believe that each patient, mother or parent needs to have a conversation with their pediatrician about any medication they're putting in their body and their children's body."
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