Dr. Heidi Overton, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, told senators on Thursday that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is not lethal and is safe and effective. She answered at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as the United States records its highest measles total in more than three decades.
Her answer contradicts the president's claim last month that the combined MMR shot is potentially lethal. Trump remarked without evidence while signing an executive order on childhood vaccines in the Oval Office, with Overton standing behind him. Her confirmation is not final.
