Trump's NIH pick Bhattacharya appears to be open to more research on vaccines and autism
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Trump's pick to lead the NIH, appeared to be open studies investigating potential links between vaccines and autism, a long-debunked theory.
WASHINGTON — 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.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya appeared before the Senate Help, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for his confirmation hearing to be NIH director.Andrew Harnik / Getty ImagesHis 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.
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