USA · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Heidi Overton Tells Senate MMR Vaccine Is Not Lethal, Says FDA Finds Vaccines Safe
Overton told senators the MMR vaccine is not lethal and safe, effective. She is President Trump's nominee to lead the FDA and appeared at confirmation hearing.
15 outlets told this the same way.
11 of 12 outlets skipped it: overton vowed to push for reforms to speed early research.
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Overton Faces HELP Hearing
Dr. Heidi Overton appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee for her confirmation hearing as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., pressed Overton on vaccines and asked if the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine is lethal, and Overton replied, "It is not."
Overton told Cassidy, "Every vaccine on the U.S. market right now are safe and effective, according to the FDA," as senators questioned her role in Trump’s executive order overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule.
Overton also faced questions from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wa., about mifepristone, and she said, "I know that it has met the safety and efficacy standard according to the FDA review."
Vaccine Claims and Evasions
Overton told senators that the MMR vaccine is safe and effective, and she said, "The MMR vaccine is not lethal," as Cassidy pressed her after Trump called the shot "potentially quite lethal."
Overton also asserted, "Every vaccine on the U.S. market right now are safe and effective according to the FDA," while Reuters described the exchange as underscoring tensions over vaccine policy as measles cases surge nationwide.
Ars Technica described Overton as stonewalling senators for nearly two hours, and it said she dodged a question from Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., about whether it is possible for the president to ever be wrong.
Overton responded to Hassan’s pressure by beginning a non-answer that started with, "I’ve had the privilege of working for the president for over a year and a half and have had robust discussions with him."
Abortion Pill Review Stakes
Senators pressed Overton on mifepristone and her willingness to follow FDA determinations, and Overton said, "Mifepristone was approved by the FDA as having met its safety and efficacy standard."
Overton declined to say whether an IUD is an abortifacient, and she told Sen. Patty Murray, "If I'm confirmed as FDA commissioner, I'll be fully briefed on all their prior decisions and make determinations according to the standards of safety and efficacy," as Murray replied, "Well, I don’t think you answered the question."
Reuters said the agency must update a federal court on its progress by October 7, while it described Overton as inheriting an FDA review of mifepristone that abortion-rights groups call politically motivated.
STAT reported that Overton referred repeatedly to existing agency guidance and approvals for childhood vaccines and mifepristone without saying whether she would endorse updating those guidance or altering approvals to satisfy the desires of Trump or health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.