Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Trump’s third surgeon general nominee, was grilled at her confirmation hearing Wednesday about her stance on childhood vaccines, and she voiced her support for immunization even as the administration has moved to make sweeping changes to vaccine guidance.
Dr. Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News Channel contributor, faced tough questioning about her views on the safety of childhood vaccines by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who pressed her to declare whether she believed there was a link between vaccines and autism — which widespread scientific consensus has concluded doesn’t exist, yet which the Trump administration has repeatedly pushed to revisit.
“I do not believe childhood vaccines cause autism,” Dr. Saphier said. She also said “the MMR vaccine is our greatest tool for combating measles,” in response to a question by Mr. Cassidy over whether parents should give children that shot, which stands for measles, mumps and rubella, and which the president recently ordered be spaced out.
She suggested support for vaccines as a critical tool to fight infection and said she appreciated the administration’s attempts to address questions and concerns among “the vaccine-hesitant people,” which Mr. Cassidy countered was only creating more confusion.
Dr. Saphier is nominated for a position that carries limited policymaking power but serves as a loud megaphone as the nation’s top communicator to Americans on public health issues.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mr. Trump have both suggested that childhood vaccines, such as MMR, may play a role in causing autism. Evidence from decades of studies and real-world use of vaccines shows no link between vaccines and autism.
The administration has taken steps to upend the nation’s vaccine guidance — many of them since halted by a judge — including downsizing the childhood immunization schedule.
Dr. Saphier is Mr. Trump’s newest pick after entrepreneur and wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means saw her path forward stall in the Senate over her background and vaccine views. Mr. Trump withdrew his first nominee, Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, after questions arose about her academic credentials. The position has been vacant throughout Mr. Trump’s second term.
Like Dr. Means, who is a close Kennedy ally, Dr. Saphier has questioned whether every child needs to get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, a longtime recommendation that the Trump administration has been trying to weaken. On Wednesday, she said the universal birth dose of hepatitis B was safe and effective.
An author and podcaster who previously hosted her own show, “Wellness Unmasked with Dr. Nicole Saphier,” Dr. Saphier frequently commented on the Trump administration’s approach to health, often positively. She also used the phrase “Make America Healthy Again” years before Mr. Kennedy popularized it. It was the title of a 2020 book she wrote that criticized the government’s handling of healthcare and the Affordable Care Act.
Dr. Saphier has also disagreed with Mr. Trump and Mr. Kennedy, telling The Associated Press last fall that Mr. Trump’s cautions to pregnant women who take Tylenol were oversimplistic and “patronizing.”
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