Surgeon general nominee Means questioned about vax, birth control and financial conflicts

President Trump's surgeon general nominee Dr. Casey Means testified before Senate committee on Wednesday in her bid to be confirmed as the nation's top doctor. The hearing was a long time coming for Means — a wellness influencer, entrepreneur and author — who had to delay the confirmation hearing in late October because she was pregnant and went into labor. During her testimony, Means praised Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s leadership and echoed many of the talking points of his 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda, while sidestepping pointed questions about the administration's controversial actions on vaccines and other issues.  In a back and forth between Means and Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, she said that she believes 'vaccines save lives,' but stopped short of encouraging mothers to have their kids vaccinated against measles and flu. She said that it is a matter for conversation and informed consent between doctors and patients. Later when pressed by Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, on whether she disagreed with Kennedy's statements that there's a lack of evidence on the efficacy of the flu vaccine, Means eventually agreed that at the 'population level' the shot does lower the risk of injury or hospitalization. She took a similar tack when asked about the debunked link between autism and vaccines, which has been promoted by Kennedy and many of his allies.