Trump taps pro-censorship vaccine extremist for surgeon general

On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump tapped emergency room physician Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for US surgeon general. 

The appointment raised concerns among many Republicans, who pointed out that Nesheiwat strongly pushed the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines during the pandemic. Referring to the vaccines as “a gift from God” that is “nothing short of miraculous,” she repeatedly urged Americans to take the injections.

In April 2021, Nesheiwat downplayed adverse events from the vaccines despite the absence of long-term data and parrotted the government talking point that “the benefits outweigh the risks.”

“The most common side effects — and only about 40 to 50 percent of people will experience them — are pain at the site of injection. So if you get it in your left arm it’ll be sore maybe for about a day or two. Sometimes, some people will develop a fever. You can also get a headache. I had a little bit of a headache. A little bit of fatigue, a little bit of body aches. But the good news is, Lawrence, that it’s short-lived. It only lasts maybe about a day or two and if you take a little acetaminophen, a little Tylenol, even a little Motrin, that can help with your symptoms. And you got to remember, the benefits of the vaccines greatly outweigh these short-lived side effects that are easily treatable and can protect you, keep you out of the hospital, keep you off a ventilator, and keep you from dying.”

Nesheiwat also falsely claimed the vaccine stopped transmission of the virus. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only admitted this was false in late July 2021, Nesheiwat could not have made that claim based on scientific data. Pfizer admitted to having no data on the vaccine’s effect on transmission, and even the World Health Organization (WHO) had already said that vaccination was ineffective at stopping the virus. At the time, the only reason to think the mRNA vaccines stopped transmission was because media pundits and government doctors said so.

In January 2022, Nesheiwat urged Americans to get the booster shots: “The best way to protect yourself if you haven’t already is to get that vaccine, get that third dose, get the booster. And of course, if you’re in crowded public areas, indoors, wear a mask to protect yourself.”

Child vaccinations and masking

When urging Americans to get vaccinated, Nesheiwat also pushed the shots for children. 

“The best thing that we can do right now is continue to vaccinate as quickly as possible and vaccinating as many Americans as possible, including younger Americans,” she said in April 2021. “I think it’s critical to open up vaccine eligibility to everyone that’s allowed, that’s eligible. And hopefully soon by the summer time it will be extended to teenagers and younger, the younger population.”

Children were the population least affected by the virus but Nesheiwat nevertheless claimed they were placing a strain on the healthcare system. She used this claim to justify not only vaccinating children but also forcing them to wear masks, telling Fox News:

It’s putting our children in the hospital in record numbers. The coronavirus’s Delta strain is affecting the younger population. We say more hospitalizations with those under the age of 50 and [who] are children. And we now are running out of ICU beds, if you look at Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, we are running out of hospital beds. We are running out of ICU beds. The healthcare system is strained. So when we are dealing with these types of situations, we need to take action, and that starts with protecting everyone. Because everyone is capable of spreading this virus from one person to another. 

Nesheiwat repeatedly made it clear that she was an echo for CDC guidance. In August 2021, she again called for masking school children and the unvaccinated because the CDC had recommended it.

“We should continue wearing masks even though we are all tired of it,” she wrote. “The CDC recommends wearing a mask if you’re not vaccinated—doing so will protect others and yourself. The schools and the teachers--all of us--can’t tell who is vaccinated from who is not. The science, data, and facts show us that these strategies work.”

Citing a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Nesheiwat also advocated for masking all school children over two years old.

Two months later, she responded to comments by Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who said masks were ineffective at protecting against the virus. 

“Masks have saved thousands of lives and prevented thousands of infections,” Nesheiwat wrote.

Overwhelming scientific evidence shows Ladapo was correct.

Pro-censorship

Although it would later become clear that her claims and recommendations were not based on real scientific data, Nesheiwat urged social media platforms to censor users who challenged them.

“First of all, vaccines save lives,” she told a Fox News panel. “And I am so excited, and I thank and I commend Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg for taking action because this [vaccine misinformation] affects everyone. This affects our children, it affects adults . . . it’s about time that they are taking action and I hope and pray that other social media platforms will follow suit and do the same thing.”

Eventually, Nesheiwat appeared to reverse her approach, though she did not apologize for her errors. She criticized the Department of Defense for discharging unvaccinated soldiers and slammed COVID-19 vaccine mandates for kids. In 2023, she wrote on X that “natural immunity is the best protection” and admitted that the vaccine “does not prevent disease.”

Nonetheless, many users have taken to social media to express their opposition to Nesheiwat’s appointment as US Surgeon General.

“Trump's pick for Surgeon General, Janette Nesheiwat, praised Facebook for censoring ‘anti-vaccine’ sentiment & wanted other companies to do the same. Silencing those raising legitimate concerns about an experimental vaccine is wrong. Shame on her!” wrote physician and America’s Frontline Doctors founder Dr. Simone Gold on X.

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