“Our nation is angry, exhausted and hurting from preventable diseases,” the 38-year-old said in Washington before the Senate health committee Wednesday. “If we’re addressing shared root causes, we’re going to be able to stop the whack-a-mole medicine that’s not working for us and that is so costly.”
But Means also faced tough questions from senators about topics that have become divisive in recent years, such as vaccines and hormonal birth control.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate health committee, asked Means whether she would advise Americans to vaccinate against flu and measles amid outbreaks across the U.S. She declined to make such a commitment, instead emphasizing the importance of informed consent between patients and their physicians.
Cassidy, a doctor himself, then asked Means whether she believes that vaccines may contribute to autism, a claim that Kennedy has embraced.
“I do accept that evidence,” she said, referring to the research. "I also think that science is never settled.”
Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, asked Means to address her past comments on a podcast that birth control pills were being prescribed “like candy” and showed a “disrespect of things that create life.”
Means said she thinks oral contraceptives should be available to all women, but raised concerns about what she called “horrifying side effects” that can occur in certain populations.
“Doctors do not have enough time for a thorough informed consent conversation,” she said.
According to the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, hormonal birth control methods such as the pill, patch or ring are safe for most people but are associated with a small increased risk of deep vein thrombosis, heart attack and stroke. The risk is higher in some people, such as smokers older than 35 or those who have multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
