WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Senate Republican leader , a childhood polio survivor, said any of President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 nominees seeking confirmation should 鈥渟teer clear鈥� of efforts to discredit the polio vaccine.
鈥淓fforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed 鈥� they鈥檙e dangerous,鈥� McConnell said in a Friday statement. 鈥淎nyone seeking the Senate鈥檚 consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts.鈥�
The 82-year-old lawmaker鈥檚 statement appeared to be directed at Trump鈥檚 nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after a report that one of his advisors filed a petition to revoke approval for the polio vaccine in 2022. It was a sign that Kennedy, who has long advanced the , could face resistance in the soon-to-be GOP-controlled Senate.
鈥淢r. Kennedy believes the Polio Vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied,鈥� said Katie Miller, the transition spokeswoman for Kennedy, in response to questions.
The New York Times Friday that a lawyer who is helping Kennedy select candidates for health official positions filed a petition to get the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine 鈥� widely considered to have halted the disease in most parts of the world 鈥� and pause distribution of several other vaccines. The Washington Post also the petition. The AP has not independently confirmed the petition, which was filed in 2022, according to the Times.
Vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective in laboratory testing and in real-world use in hundreds of millions of people over decades 鈥� they are considered among the most effective public health measures in history.
McConnell contracted polio at 2 years old but survived, he said Friday, because of 鈥渢he miraculous combination of modern medicine and a mother鈥檚 love.鈥� He praised the 鈥渟aving power鈥� of the polio vaccine for the 鈥渕illions who came after me.鈥�
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also responded Friday to the Times report. In a post on , formerly Twitter, he called it 鈥渙utrageous and dangerous for people in the Trump Transition to try and get rid of the polio vaccine that has virtually eradicated polio in America and saved millions of lives.
He called on Kennedy to clarify his own position on it.
Trump , saying he would work to protect Americans 鈥渇rom harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives.鈥�
But his nomination was immediately met with alarm from scientists and public health officials, who fear Kennedy would unwind life-saving public health initiatives, like vaccines.
Kennedy has pushed other conspiracy theories regarding vaccines, such as that to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, comments he later said were taken out of context. He has repeatedly when discussing vaccines and .
Kennedy said he , an agency with sprawling reach and a $1.3 trillion budget, if he is approved. He has suggested the Food and Drug Administration is beholden to 鈥渂ig pharma,鈥� and his anti-vaccine nonprofit has called on it to stop using COVID-19 vaccines.
During the COVID-19 epidemic, his nonprofit group, Children鈥檚 Health Defense, petitioned the FDA to halt the use of all COVID vaccines. The group has alleged that the FDA is beholden to 鈥渂ig pharma鈥� because it receives much of its budget from industry fees and some employees who have departed the agency have gone on to work for drugmakers.
Children鈥檚 Health Defense currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
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Moriah Balingit, The Associated Press
