The US doesn’t need a surgeon general who is sideways on science 

On Feb. 25, Dr. Casey Means, candidate for U.S. Surgeon General, testified before Congress. When asked whether she would support measles or flu vaccines, she could not answer yes or no. When asked if vaccines caused autism, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, she could not say no.

This testimony by a physician being considered for a position that can influence the health of more than 340 million Americans should make us all realize how personal politics has created an incredible backslide for our country in its respect for research-based medicine.

The attack on the scientific and academic intellectual elite, and the century’s worth of documented advancements in prevention and treatment of serious illness, is not new in American politics, with roots that go back to the 1950s. As academia has become more left-leaning over the past several decades, attacks on higher education have escalated.

Even with many institutions reaching economic settlements with the Trump administration after federal funding was frozen, funding for research in America has fallen dramatically, endangering a once strong and thriving academic research infrastructure. The pipeline of research trainees is slipping, too, and physician-scientists, who play a critical role in translating scientific findings into clinical care, is declining.

The anti-science agenda increased disproportionally during the pandemic, as anti-COVID policies that included lockdowns, face masks and vaccine mandates were opposed. The anti-vaccine movement, predicated on the false supposition that vaccines caused autism, flourished and hitched itself to the Republican Party, which was happy to court its votes, rather than acknowledge that its viewpoints were scientifically wrong.

The decades of Americans virtuously protecting their children and their communities through vaccination were replaced by a growing cry for personal freedom. This viewpoint is now supported by discrediting the science showing vaccine effectiveness.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with a history of opposing vaccines and making false claims about them, was confirmed by the Senate with the promise that he would not alter the vaccine schedule. His appointees to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, though, have whittled the number of recommended childhood vaccines down from 17 to 11, in opposition to the recommended and long accepted advice from the medical community.  

During the measles outbreak of 2025, Kennedy did not immediately recommend vaccination as a solution, nor as the most effective method to end the continuing spread of the disease. The mixed messaging about vaccine efficacy, coming on the heels of COVID vaccine promotion and backlash, has spilled over to childhood vaccines, contributing to the lowest rates of vaccination of children entering school in more than 50 years.  

The consequences of following vaccination rates are real. In 2025, there were more than 2,000 U.S. cases of measles. Three months into 2026, there are more than 1,000 cases. Other vaccine-preventable illnesses, such as pertussis and meningitis, are also on the rise. Predictably, we will also see more children with liver failure as neonatal vaccination against hepatitis A declines. We find ourselves more vulnerable to serious flu outbreaks and epidemics, as research and support for the development of the next generation of vaccines are cut.  

Dr. Means’s testimony was also riddled with the false pretext that this is about shared decision-making, which is not new and is foundational in medicine. The practice of medicine includes recommending vaccination, yet vaccines are not administered against a parent’s or patient’s will. 

The mantra that opposing vaccination is about personal freedom also rings hollow, as a person’s decision not to get vaccinated will impact the individual liberty of others, who may now fear the risk of a vaccine-preventable illness by going out in public. Elderly and vulnerable populations will endure the consequences of falling community vaccination rates. But to allay the reality of the situation, purveyors of this notion also need to discredit the legions of scientific and data evidence supporting the efficacy of vaccines. 

Now we confront someone with a medical degree, being considered for a critically important public advisory role, who will spread vaccine skepticism to the public. As we heard during testimony, this will be done with talking points that are not scientifically correct, for the cause of personal freedom and shared decision-making.  

Sadly, we know how the story is going to end when a vaccine skeptic in a doctor’s clothing is given the bully pulpit to erode the pillars of public health that have protected us all for so long. This calls to mind the enormous obligations and responsibilities to the public well-being that every surgeon general vows to protect, whether at the state or national level.  

Scott A. Rivkees, MD, is a pediatrician. He is the former state surgeon general and secretary of Health of Florida. 

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