Dr Heidi Overton, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has affirmed the safety and effectiveness of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, contrasting a recurring hesitancy held by the President towards the combined jab.
At a confirmation hearing before the Senate, Overton stated the MMR vaccine is “safe and effective”, adding that the product is “our best tool right now in the public health response to the measles outbreak”.
In August, Trump signed an executive order (EO) reducing the number of vaccines recommended to children. Alongside this, the order also recommended splitting the MMR vaccine into separate shots.
At the announcement at the White House, Trump suggested the MMR vaccine could be “quite lethal” if given at once.
The EO drew immediate backlash from medical bodies in the US, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), and international health organisations.
Overton, then deputy assistant to the President for domestic policy, stood behind Trump at the Oval Office during this statement.
At the hearing, Senator Bill Cassidy asked if Overton now disagrees with President Trump on the MMR vaccine.
“The MMR vaccine is not lethal,” Overton told Cassidy, though she did not explicitly confirm whether she disagreed with the President.
Later in the hearing, Senator Ed Markey commented that his faith in Overton “was undermined [in August]”, saying he would not have confidence that, if confirmed, the new commissioner would stand up to the President where necessary.
The hearing comes as measles cases hit a record high in the US since 1991, with critique swirling around the Trump administration’s handling of immunisation recommendations. Over the past year, the reach of US vaccines has receded significantly, fuelled by controversial claims made by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr.
When Cassidy asked what Overton would do if the President alleged the FDA was wrong in approving a drug as safe, she replied: “What I would do in this role is to communicate and use my scientific training and my clinical background to describe what is currently known and what is currently known is that the vaccines that have been approved by the FDA have met the standards for safety and efficacy.”
Reacting to the hearing, Citi analysts said: “Vaccine commentary emphasised safety and efficacy but avoided creating new policy friction, consistent with a leadership approach likely to prioritise agency operations over public debate.”
Other topics discussed were regulatory flexibility, expedited rare-disease development, and boosting US clinical trial numbers to maintain competitiveness with China.
