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Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has voiced strong criticism against efforts to discredit the polio vaccine, an issue that hits close to home for him as a polio survivor.
On Friday, McConnell condemned what he described as "specious disinformation that threatens the advance of lifesaving medical progress," following a report from The New York Times revealing that a lawyer associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had filed a petition to revoke the government's approval of the polio vaccine.
McConnell warned that such actions not only spread misinformation but also pose a serious danger to public health. “Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous,” he declared.
He further suggested that individuals seeking Senate confirmation for roles in the incoming administration should distance themselves from such efforts, an apparent reference to Kennedy, who has been considered for a position in President-elect Trump’s administration as head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
According to The New York Times, Aaron Siri, a lawyer associated with Kennedy, filed a petition on behalf of the Informed Consent Network in 2022 to revoke the approval of the polio vaccine.
Siri, who represented Kennedy during his presidential campaign, has also challenged the distribution of 13 other vaccines, filing petitions and lawsuits against them. Siri has a track record of opposing a variety of public health measures, including vaccine mandates, and has filed close to 30 federal and state lawsuits targeting such mandates in the past four years.
This development is particularly personal for McConnell, who battled polio as a child. He recalls receiving treatment at Warm Springs, Georgia, a facility famously associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who also lived with the disease.
McConnell credits "modern medicine and a mother’s love" for saving him from the severe physical disabilities that afflicted Roosevelt and thousands of other Americans before the widespread availability of the polio vaccine.
“From the age of two, normal life without paralysis was only possible for me because of the miraculous combination of modern medicine and a mother’s love. But for millions who came after me, the real miracle was the saving power of the polio vaccine,” McConnell said.
The Senate Minority Leader emphasized his long-standing commitment to supporting vaccine advocacy, working with organizations like Rotary International and the Gates Foundation to promote lifesaving medical innovations.
He vowed to continue fighting against false narratives that endanger medical progress. “For decades, I have been proud to work with devoted advocates... and use my platform in public life to champion the pursuit of cures for future generations,” he said. “I have never flinched from confronting specious disinformation that threatens the advance of lifesaving medical progress, and I will not today.”
This issue could signal a fierce political battle if Kennedy is formally nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy, who previously identified as a Democrat, is the founder of Children’s Health Defense, a non-profit organization known for its anti-vaccine advocacy.
Media outlets have described the group as an anti-vaccine organization due to its numerous legal challenges to vaccine mandates and other public health initiatives.
Despite his controversial stance on vaccines, Kennedy has stated that he does not intend to ban them. In a November interview with NPR, Kennedy declared, "We’re not going to take vaccines away from anybody."
However, he also claimed that the current science on vaccine safety is flawed. “Right now, the science on vaccine safety particularly has huge deficits in it,” he said. He pledged that if confirmed, his leadership would prioritize ensuring more thorough scientific studies, thereby enabling people to make "informed choices about their vaccinations and their children’s vaccinations."
If Kennedy is confirmed, he would oversee major public health institutions, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
McConnell’s strong rebuke of Kennedy’s stance on vaccines may foreshadow significant resistance during the confirmation process.
