Op-ed by Irwin Redlener in MedPage Today
After months of delay -- first a stalled nomination process, then a childbirth that preempted her October hearing -- Casey Means, MD, finally appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on February 25. The hearing was long overdue, and it answered some of the most pressing questions about her fitness for the role.
Unfortunately, the answers were not reassuring.
Means has a medical degree from Stanford. She did not complete her residency. She holds no active medical license and has no intention of reactivating her license if confirmed. She built her public profile as a "wellness influencer" and entrepreneur, selling continuous glucose monitors through her company "Levels," promoting dietary supplements, and amassing nearly a million social media followers with her "Good Energy" brand. (A pending Federal Trade Commission complaint alleges she failed to disclose financial relationships when promoting products online.)
Before even getting to the substance of her relevant views on key public health issues, there is absolutely nothing in Means' background to suggest she would be qualified to serve as surgeon general. No clinical experience, no public health training -- just a large social media presence with a potentially sketchy business background.
During the Senate confirmation hearing, Means repeatedly hedged on questions about vaccines. When pressed by committee chair Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), on whether she would recommend the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine amid the nation's worst measles outbreak in decades, she said every parent, "needs to have a conversation with their pediatrician."
As seen in MedPage Today
