By Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Dr. Heidi Overton, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the embattled FDA, told senators on Thursday that all US vaccines are safe and effective, as the health committee’s Republican chairman pressed her during a contentious confirmation hearing.
US Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana asked Overton to affirm the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and to keep politics out of agency decisions.
He criticized Overton for standing behind Trump as he signed an executive order splitting the childhood vaccine schedule into more doses, a move physicians’ groups and vaccine makers strongly oppose. Cassidy, himself a physician, said the order rested on “zero scientific evidence” and would raise costs for families.
Noting Overton’s presence when Trump called the MMR shot “potentially quite lethal”, Cassidy asked her whether she would break with the president’s characterization as the country experiences its worst measles outbreak in decades due to declining vaccination rates.
“The MMR vaccine is not lethal,” Overton said, adding that “every vaccine on the US market right now are safe and effective according to the FDA,” when Cassidy asked her if any were not.
That was one of several such exchanges with lawmakers that underscored tensions over vaccine policy as measles cases surge nationwide.
TRUMP’S ‘AMERICA FIRST’ PICK
Overton repeatedly declined to say Trump had been wrong on health matters. Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts asked why she had not corrected him at the order signing. He noted that the conservative America First Policy Institute, where she once held a leadership role, had said Overton played an important role in shaping the executive order.
Overton had stood beside Trump, calling it “a historic day,” Markey said, adding that she then took the microphone without challenging his suggestion that the combined shots could be “quite lethal,” saying parents should have “the option to separate them.”
Asked why, Overton said only that the MMR shot was safe and effective and that Trump wanted to give parents “an additional option,” not remove the vaccine.
She did contradict Trump’s false claim linking Tylenol to autism, but would not fault him for telling pregnant women to avoid it.
Trump nominated Overton, a preventive medicine physician and deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, in August, turning to an “America First” ally to steady a Food and Drug Administration that has lost more than 4,500 staff over the past year and faces pressure to rebuild confidence among industry and public-health groups.
DEMOCRATS CHALLENGE ABORTION PILL STANCE
Her anti-abortion views drew Democratic scrutiny. Overton had called the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade “a huge victory for life.”
Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington repeatedly asked whether Overton personally believed the abortion pill mifepristone is safe and effective. Overton did not answer directly, saying only that it had met FDA safety standards.
Murray said Overton had published an article three years ago calling medication abortion dangerous to women. Overton said she had always been driven by data.
Overton twice declined to say whether an intrauterine device, or IUD, is birth control rather than an abortion, saying she would be “fully briefed” on the agency’s prior decisions if confirmed. Murray called the non-answer “outrageous.”
If confirmed, Overton would inherit an FDA review of mifepristone that abortion-rights groups call politically motivated and warn could tighten restrictions on a drug used by millions since its US approval 26 years ago. The agency must update a federal court on its progress by October 7.
SENATORS PRESS ON FLAVORED VAPES
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine pressed Overton on the FDA’s authorization of new flavored nicotine pouches and vapes, calling it a “terrible decision” that could reverse progress on youth e-cigarette use.
Overton did not disavow the approvals, saying career FDA staff recommended them because many adults who quit smoking use flavored products.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut alleged political interference, saying tobacco company Reynolds donated $8 million to the president days before a rule change. Overton rejected “the framing of that question.”
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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