00:00Does the MMR vaccine cause autism? What do you say?
00:05Well, humbly, I don't know what causes autism, but I have not seen repeatable evidence that would suggest that vaccines
00:10cause autism.
00:11Can you tell the parent, I assume you've reviewed the literature, that there is no credible evidence that vaccines cause
00:21autism?
00:22Certainly, I have not seen any evidence presented to me that is repeatable.
00:25There's a little bit of a wiggle room there, and I'm so sensitive to this because I've had wiggle room
00:31from people sitting there, as Senator Baldwin said, who later use that wiggle room to do things which are quite
00:38contrary.
00:39Dr. Sapphire, I noted, I outlined in your, I underlined in your thing, noted a very difficult time thing can
00:48be to speak to patients.
00:49I'm a physician, and at least three of us here, or four of us, with Dr. Marshall, we've had that
00:56experience of speaking.
00:59Parents want clarity on immunizations.
01:02You would be the nation's doctor charged with messaging.
01:07What would be your message to a parent regarding vaccines?
01:13And I only have a few minutes, so be tight.
01:16Chairman Cassidy, I appreciate the question, and I thank you for your time on the phone and also meeting with
01:21me in person, and I understand how important that this topic is for you and also the American public.
01:27Like you as a physician, I see every day, I talk to patients, when I tell them they have cancer,
01:32there are some patients in that moment, they are ready to start treatment.
01:35Anything I recommend, they are ready to do.
01:37And then I also have patients who, they can't even comprehend that I have told them they have cancer yet,
01:42and they need more time, and they need more conversation.
01:45Both of these patients deserve my compassion, and I will adapt and meet them in the moment that they need.
01:50So if she asks you, the mom asks you specifically, and obviously this is topical, does the MMR vaccine cause
02:00autism?
02:01What do you say?
02:02Well, humbly, I don't know what causes autism, but I have not seen reputable evidence that would suggest that vaccines
02:08cause autism.
02:09Can you tell the parent, I assume you've reviewed the literature, that there is no credible evidence that vaccines cause
02:18autism?
02:19Certainly, I have not seen any evidence presented to me that is reputable or respectable.
02:23There's a little bit of a wiggle room there, and I'm so sensitive to this, because I've had wiggle room
02:28from people sitting there, as Senator Baldwin said, who later used that wiggle room to do things which are quite
02:35contrary.
02:36Do you, I assume you've reviewed the literature, would you feel comfortable communicating with clarity?
02:43Because when you spoke about the COVID vaccine and the need for clarity, not, oh, well, but no, clarity, are
02:52you up to saying to the American people, well, let me ask you, is the MMR vaccine extremely lethal, as
02:59the president said?
03:00Chairman Cassidy, I cannot speak to what the president has said.
03:03If you cannot say.
03:04As a physician, I can tell you that I do not believe the MMR vaccine to be lethal.
03:08I believe the MMR vaccine is our greatest tool for combating measles and infections.
03:12That's great.
03:12That's great music.
03:14And does it cause autism?
03:17I do not believe childhood vaccines cause autism.
03:20And should a parent be vaccinating their child for, with the MMR?
03:26I think that the recommendation is to combat what we are seeing right now.
03:30The best tool we have to combat these infections, to save the most lives, and to also create population herd
03:35immunity, is vaccination against the MMR.
03:37I appreciate that the president is trying to reach the vaccine-hesitant people who are wanting more answers or who
03:43are concerned that there are too many doses.
03:45Let me stop you for a second.
03:46I'm not sure that you reach people who are vaccine hesitancy by feeding into untruths.
03:52The way to dispel confusion is not to sow more confusion.
03:58The way is to say, no, it does not cause autism.
04:01And frankly, even, well, I've never seen any evidence for it, suggests that there might be evidence out there, but
04:06you just are not briefed on it.
04:09That's a little bit of an equivocation.
04:11I understand what you're saying.
04:12I do not believe that there is reputable evidence that shows us causation of childhood vaccines and autism.
04:18What I can say is that I believe vaccines save lives, and they are one of the strongest tools in
04:24our arsenal when it comes to public health.
04:26And as a communicator, and I believe that that is one of the things that I bring to this administration,
04:31is my experience communicating with patients, but also the American public is working with the administration.
04:38So you mentioned, again, very effectively about the need to prevent chronic disease.
04:44But if a child is infected with hepatitis B at the child's birth or right after, they have a 95
04:51% chance of becoming a chronic carrier of hepatitis B, and they are more likely to spread it to other
04:59people.
05:00Now, the secretary, who doesn't know anything about hepatitis, wants to eliminate the recommendation, it's not a mandate, for a
05:10birth dose of hepatitis B.
05:13Is that wise public policy?
05:15Chairman Cassidy, you're speaking to someone who tells people they have cancer every day, and the hepatitis B vaccines are
05:20one of the most tangible ways we have to prevent cancer.
05:24And that is something that I absolutely am always excited about, because it is so hard to prevent cancer in
05:29so many patients.
05:30I support universal hepatitis B vaccination.
05:33And looking at areas in the country, it has been widely effective, specifically in western Alaska.
05:38Senator Murkowski knows the most about this, that they led the world in pediatric liver cancer cases.
05:46So should we do away with the recommendation of a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine?
05:54In the United States, the most tried and true way to prevent hepatitis B infection and effectively lower hepatitis B
06:00associated illness is universal birth dosing.
06:03That is what has worked here in the United States.
06:05Okay, and it is effective, so therefore, should it be recommended?
06:09I do believe that that is what is tried and true.
06:11I understand it can be a nuanced conversation, and some parents have concerns that they can have with their pediatrician.
06:17But in the United States, we have the most evidence showing universal birth dose vaccination to be safe and effective.
06:23But that stops short of saying that it should be recommended.
06:27Well, just based on our data, the overwhelming recommendation should be, this is what we have shown is tried and
06:33true.
06:34I'm open to future discussions about it, but at this point, the data that we have is based on the
06:39universal birth dose.
06:41And being someone in academic medicine, I believe in evidence-based medicine.
06:44And that's all I have right now, is that the universal birth dose has been the most effective policy here
06:48in the United States for reducing infection.
06:50Dr. Dr. Senator Baldwin.
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