Washington – Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the election of President Donald Trump to direct the National Health Institutes, on Wednesday seemed to be open to finance new studies that investigate the links between vaccines and autism, a theory that has been discredited by decades of research.
Bhattacharya, a professor of Medicine at Stanford University, said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Labor, Work and Pensions Committee that does not “generally believe” that there is a link between vaccines and autism.
However, he did not rule out dedicating funds to new research, pointing out the wide public distrust of vaccines and the fact that scientists still do not know what they are causing increasing autism rates.
“I would support a wide scientific agenda, based on data, to obtain an answer to that,” said Bhattacharya.
His response seemed to classify the president of the Committee, Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of the, who talked about the fears of public health experts that the government could direct resources towards a new study.
In recent days, in the midst of a measles outbreak in western Texas that has led to at least 159 cases, mainly in non -vaccinated children, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Like vitamin A and cod liver oil, which does not prevent infection. (Cassidy, who is also a doctor, was a key vote in support of Kennedy’s confirmation last month).
A link between vaccines and autism has “studied thoroughly” and would be a waste of NIH resources, Cassidy said. “If we continue to plow the arid terrain of something that has already been validated several times, that there is no connection between vaccination and autism, we do not have the money to pursue the real.”
“If we are making money here, it is less money that we have to pursue the real reason,” he added.
NiH’s resources were a common theme during Bhattacharya’s audience. The agency has a budget of almost $ 50 billion and is the largest biomedical research in the world.
In February, the Trump administration suspended NIH reviews of the new requests for subsidies, avoiding financial research and adopted a policy that reduced indirect funds to universities.
Experts say that they fear that movements can turn progress in the development of treatments to save lives.
“I am deeply concerned about the funds there and the investigation that has stopped,” said Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., He told Bhattacharya, and added that she wants “strong guarantees” that he “moves again.”
Senator Maggie Hassan, Dn.H., asked: “If confirmed, will you commit to reverse fund freezing in NiH?”
Bhattacharya avoided those questions, said he was not involved in those decisions, since it has not yet been confirmed to lead the NIH, but said he would investigate him.
“I’m going to evaluate it on day 1,” he said. “I will understand the resources that NIH need and I will make sure that the scientists who work in NIH have resources to do the work that saves lives that make and that scientists who are backed by NIH also have that.”
Bhattacharya also promised to make advances in treatments for chronic diseases such as obesity, saying that NIH’s goal is to “make Americans greet.”
The Trump administration has said that addressing chronic diseases is one of its main approaches.
“I don’t have the answer on how to solve the obesity crisis,” he said. “But I want to make sure the investigation has the support of the NIH.”
Legislators such as Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., Asked for what he described as a wasteful expense, referring to an old study financed by the federal government that involved putting shrimp on a running tape. Bhattacharya seemed to be open only to financing studies where the impact on Americans is clear.
“I think you want to make sure that studies focus on diseases that are harming Americans, [like] Obesity, ”said Paul.
However, a large amount of preclinical research, which is carried out before studies are executed in humans, may seem not related to the place where it leads. For example, the venom studies of a giant lizard called Monster Gila led to the development of GLP-1 drugs of great success, now used for weight loss and diabetes.
Bhattacharya said that he does not support more employment cuts when asked about the initiative of the Government Efficiency Department Elon Musk to reduce federal expenditure throughout the federal government.
“I have no intention of cutting anyone in the NIH,” Bhattacharya said.
Republican legislators also seemed to use the audience as an opportunity to transmit complaints about the Biden administration response to the Covid pandemic.
Bhattacharya became a polarizing figure during the pandemic due to its opposition to Covid blocks. He was co -author of the “Great Barrington Declaration”, a letter that argued to let the virus spread between young and healthy individuals with a lower risk of serious illness or death, while protecting the elderly with the greatest risk, with the aim of reaching flock immunity.
“Transparency and trust will have to be won again”, Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-ala. “Most people in this country do not know what NIH means, but now they do it for Covid.”
