Trump's NIH Pick Doesn't Think Vaccines and Autism Are Linked, But Appeared Open to More Research
NBC News ^ | March 5, 2025 | Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
Posted on 03/05/2025 3:26:22 PM PST by nickcarraway
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said he would support a "broad scientific agenda" to get answers on what's causing rising autism rates in children.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health, on Wednesday appeared to be open to funding new studies investigating links between vaccines and autism — a theory that has been debunked by decades of research.
Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor of medicine, said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that he doesn’t “generally believe” there’s a link between vaccines and autism.
However, he didn’t rule out devoting funding to new research, noting the wide public distrust of vaccines and the fact that scientists still don’t know what’s causing rising autism rates.
“I would support a broad scientific agenda, based on data, to get an answer to that,” Bhattacharya said.
His response appeared to rankle the committee chair, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La, who spoke about fears from public health experts that the government might direct resources toward a new study.
In recent days — amid a measles outbreak in West Texas that has led to at least 159 cases, mostly in unvaccinated children — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested that vaccination against measles is important but has stopped short of fully endorsing it, instead doubling down on supplements like vitamin A and cod liver oil, which do not prevent infection. (Cassidy, who is also a physician, was a key vote in support of Kennedy’s confirmation last month.)
A link between vaccines and autism has been “exhaustively studied” and would be a waste of NIH resources, Cassidy said. “If we continue to plow the barren ground of something that has already been validated multiple times, that there is not a connection between vaccination and autism, we don’t have the money to go after the real thing.”
“If we’re p---ing money away over here, that’s less money that we have to go after the true reason,” he added.
NIH resources were a common topic during Bhattacharya’s hearing. The agency has a budget of nearly $50 billion and is the largest funder of biomedical research in the world.
In February, the Trump administration suspended NIH reviews of new grant applications, preventing it from funding new research, and adopted a policy that reduced indirect funding to universities.
Experts say they fear the moves could upend progress in developing lifesaving treatments.
“I am deeply concerned about the funding there and the research that has been stopped,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told Bhattacharya, adding that she wants “strong assurances” that he would “get that moving again.”
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., asked him, “If confirmed, will you commit to reversing funding freezes at NIH?”
Bhattacharya sidestepped those questions — he said he wasn’t involved in those decisions, as he hasn’t yet been confirmed to lead the NIH — but said that he would look into it.
“I’m going to assess it Day 1,” he said. “I’m going to understand the resources the whole NIH needs and make sure that the scientists working at NIH have resources to do the lifesaving work that they do and that the scientists that are supported by the NIH also have that.”
Bhattacharya also vowed to make advances in treatments for chronic diseases like obesity, saying the goal of the NIH is to “make Americans healthy.”
The Trump administration has said tackling chronic diseases is one its major focuses.
“I don’t have the answer on how to solve the obesity crisis,” he said. “But I want to make sure the research out there has the support of the NIH.”
Lawmakers like Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called out what he described as wasteful spending, referring to an old federally funded study that involved putting shrimp on a treadmill. Bhattacharya appeared to be open to only funding studies where the impact on Americans is clear.
“I think you want to make sure studies are focused on the diseases that are hurting Americans, [like] obesity,” Paul said.
However, a lot of preclinical research, which is carried out before studies are run in humans, can seem unrelated to where it leads. For example, studies of the venom of a giant lizard called a Gila monster led to the development of the blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, now used for weight loss and diabetes.
Bhattacharya said he doesn’t support further job cuts when questioned about billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s initiative to reduce federal spending across the federal government.
“I don’t have any intention to cut anyone at the NIH,” Bhattacharya said.
Republican lawmakers also appeared to use the hearing as an opportunity to air out grievances about the Biden administration’s response to the Covid pandemic.
Bhattacharya became a polarizing figure during the pandemic due to his opposition to Covid lockdowns. He was a co-author of the “Great Barrington Declaration,” a letter that argued for letting the virus spread among young, healthy individuals at lower risk of severe illness or death, while protecting older people at higher risk, with the goal of reaching herd immunity.
“Transparency and trust is going to have to be earned again,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. “Most people in this country don’t know what NIH stands for, but now they do because of Covid.”
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: nih; trump; vaccine
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Is there anything more threatening to a country than, "openness to more research?" Should they tell us the answer before the research?
1 posted on 03/05/2025 3:26:22 PM PST by nickcarraway
To: nickcarraway
How dare the Trump administration follow the scientific method! Don't they know they are just suppose to “trust the Science” and not ask any questions of their “betters”?
2 posted on 03/05/2025 3:29:54 PM PST by MNJohnnie (Don't blame me, my congressman is MTG!)
To: MNJohnnie
Just let RFK deal with it.
3 posted on 03/05/2025 3:31:08 PM PST by DIRTYSECRET
To: MNJohnnie
We are just supposed to believe everything a government bureaucrats tells us even if he makes stuff up.
4 posted on 03/05/2025 3:32:35 PM PST by shelterguy
To: nickcarraway
maybe much older moms than before?
5 posted on 03/05/2025 3:34:19 PM PST by Mount Athos
To: nickcarraway
Bhattacharya Is competent and not insane.
6 posted on 03/05/2025 3:38:34 PM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
To: nickcarraway
I know a set of twins and both have autism.Mom thinks infant shots were given too quickly.
7 posted on 03/05/2025 3:39:53 PM PST by cnsmom
To: Mount Athos
There is reason to suspect that the apparent (but hotly contested) link between vaccines and a high risk of autism may be due to deficiencies of vitamin D and magnesium. The result of these deficiencies is a disordered immune system, impaired neurological development, and a tendency toward high levels of neuroinflammation after a vaccine.
8 posted on 03/05/2025 3:44:46 PM PST by Rockingham
To: cnsmom
Or, perhaps Mom or Dad have been consuming things through their life which can cause autism in their offspring.
Has anyone done a study to see if autism is more, less, or as common among the chidren of people who are or once were tobacco or marijuana users?
Drinkers of bottled water?
People who used Flintstones vitamins?
People who vegged out in front of their TVs during pregnancy?
People who had flea meds on their pets?
People who have certain childbearing habits?
People whose homes had a lot of formaldehyde outgassing from carpets, etc?
Is it really more prevalent today or was it just undiagnosed in the past?
Are there populations in the world that do not get autism or have very low levels of it?
There is a lot of doors yet to be investigated, most likely.
To: nickcarraway
10 posted on 03/05/2025 4:18:14 PM PST by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and His mercy endureth forever. — Psalm 106)
To: nickcarraway
In February of 1998, a fraudulent research paper by physician Andrew Wakefield and twelve coauthors was published in the British medical journal The Lancet. The paper falsely claimed causative links between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. The entire world adopted this as gospel. The fraud involved data selection and data manipulation. The fraud was not exposed until 2010.
Who knows how many people still believe.
The above said, I do not blame anyone for doubting and fearing any current vaxxine.* The entire ‘scientific community’ has been bastardized with political correctness and wokism. From the Globull Hoax to Transwackism, Federal funds were only available to promote the ‘correct’ science.
*vaxxine - I am old enough to remember taking the sugar cube polio vaccine. Real science has produced some amazing medical breakthroughs. But today, I have no such confidence, and do not trust any ‘modern’ vaxxine.
Here is a short, amazing compare and contrast video of how we used to address such things as the Measles, and how science has been flushed today.
https://x.com/beinlibertarian/status/1896796550006972635
11 posted on 03/05/2025 4:23:10 PM PST by Ronaldus Magnus III (Do, or do not, there is no try)
To: cnsmom
Thank you.
Cassidy is for vaccinating all kids for hepatitis on day one because he doesn’t think you can tell an IV drug user mom or trust a Mom’s answer to “do you use IV drugs?” ( or other medical history). Even if they are a medical professional.
As another Freeper astutely pointed out, several vaccines at a time means several doses of adjuvants at a time. Adjuvants are vaccine additives designed to cause amplified immune response. The danger is making the immune stem react to “self” proteins and tissues.
Adjuvants make vaccines cheaper to manufacture (less antigen required). I don’t think all adjuvants are disclosed. For instance BNTX ( biotech partner that designed the Pfizer vaccine) brags on their self amplifying mRNA technology. The idea being that it will produce the antigen for longer. Normally mRNA degrades with a half life in hours to a day. Is self amplifying mRNA in their mRNA vaccines?
Even many doses of even old -school chemical adjuvants like alum in old-school vaccines would be a worry. “Poles moving into the right half-plane.” (Control theory jargon for instability due to too much positive feedback vs damping)
Anyway I say one vaccination per infant per month would be a start. The possibility of a vaccine overdose mechanism is realistic and the consequences important enough to believe the mother that she never had certain diseases unless they look like a drug addict or sex worker. Especially if you tell her the lifelong physical and mental health of her baby depends on telling the truth.
Right now the legal/insurance system for doctors incentivises doctors like Cassidy to vaccinate every baby for everything at birth since there is no accepted liability for over-vaccinating. Trump had drag Cassidy (as committee chairman responsible for approving ) against his inclination to confirm RFK.
I consider it the veterinary model for human medicine. One size fits all.
To: takebackaustin
One a month? That seems excessive...maybe 1 every 4-6 months...
13 posted on 03/05/2025 4:37:16 PM PST by goodnesswins (Democracy to Democrats is stealing other peoples money for their use, no matter how idiotic)
To: piasa
You forgot all the 5G, etc..
14 posted on 03/05/2025 4:46:15 PM PST by ebshumidors ( )
To: nickcarraway
I am skeptical that vaccines cause autism, but why not run a well-designed study. Get some real data one way or the other, not a collection of anecdotes.
15 posted on 03/05/2025 4:51:31 PM PST by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative.)
To: goodnesswins
Me too. I was just trying to keep the suggestion modest. In most cases you don’t need to vaccinate newborns at all. Hepatitis C is the worst case because it is transmitted from mother to child in the blood.
To: nickcarraway
Well, the red-dots get the placebo, so of course it’s not harmful to them.
17 posted on 03/05/2025 5:25:40 PM PST by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
To: nickcarraway
In addition to the Autism question, I would like to know why some many children 15-20 years ago have so many allergies. That seems to have dissipated in the last few years but there was a huge spike (or at least there seemed to be).
18 posted on 03/05/2025 5:43:47 PM PST by gunnut
To: nickcarraway
19 posted on 03/05/2025 6:16:35 PM PST by Raycpa
To: piasa
Are these children spraying Roundup on the weeds?
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