Casey Means, President Trump's nominee for surgeon general, now says she supports the measles vaccine and views the ongoing outbreak as "largely preventable with the MMR vaccine," according to written responses obtained by MS NOW.
The clarification comes after Means drew criticism last month for sidestepping a direct endorsement of the measles vaccine during her Feb. 25 confirmation hearing before the Senate HELP Committee. At the time, she told senators that vaccinations "save lives" and were a critical part of public health strategy, but stopped short of broadly encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against measles, the flu, or whooping cough.
In her updated written responses, Means said she agreed with "Dr. Oz's message to Americans to take the measles vaccine." She also reportedly quoted acting CDC Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya's assessment that the vaccine "remains the most reliable and effective way" to prevent the disease.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and physician himself, pressed Means during the Feb. 25 hearing on whether she would encourage mothers to get their children vaccinated against measles. Her answer at the time left room for interpretation:
"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."
That was it. Cassidy pressed further. Means refused to go beyond that statement.
The response wasn't wrong on its face. Parents should absolutely consult their pediatricians. Nobody seriously argues otherwise. But for a surgeon general nominee in the middle of the largest measles outbreak in the United States since the start of the century, the careful phrasing landed as evasion rather than prudence, as The Hill reports.
The numbers tell the story plainly enough. The CDC confirmed 1,362 measles cases across 31 states as of March 12, 2026, with 14 reported new outbreaks, each defined as three or more related cases. The ongoing outbreak in South Carolina alone has grown to nearly 1,000 cases, surpassing the West Texas outbreak from last year to become the largest in the country since the start of the century.
The United States met the typical criteria of 12 months of consistent spread on Jan. 20, putting the country on the verge of losing a measles elimination status it has held for more than two decades.
That status isn't a trophy. It's a public health infrastructure achievement that took decades of vaccination campaigns to build. Losing it would be a concrete, measurable failure.
Dr. Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, encouraged Americans in early February to get vaccinated amid the resurgence. Acting CDC Director Bhattacharya has been clear about the vaccine's efficacy. The administration's public health apparatus has been pointing in one direction on this question. Means is now aligned with it.
There is a reasonable conservative position on medical autonomy that respects parental decision-making and doctor-patient relationships. Means gestured toward it in her hearing testimony. But that position doesn't require ambiguity about whether a proven vaccine works or whether people should take it during an active, spreading outbreak. You can defend informed consent without hedging on the science.
The MMR vaccine is one of the most effective tools in the history of medicine. It is not experimental. It is not new. It is not controversial among serious medical professionals of any political stripe. Saying so plainly isn't a concession to the public health bureaucracy that conservatives rightly distrust on other matters. It's just accurate.
Means still faces a vote from the Senate HELP Committee, where members from both parties will have read both her hearing testimony and her written clarification. The gap between the two will not go unnoticed. Senators like Cassidy, who already pressed her once, will want to know which version of Means they're confirming.
The written responses are a step in the right direction. But a surgeon general's most important tool is the ability to speak clearly to the American public when it counts. The next time the moment demands it, the answer needs to come the first time it's asked.
