Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Friday denounced “misinformation that threatens life-saving medical advances.” new york times A lawyer associated with Robert F. Kennedy has petitioned the government to revoke the approval of the polio vaccine.
McConnell, a polio survivor, warned that “efforts to undermine public confidence in proven treatments are not only uninformed, they are dangerous.”
“Anyone seeking Senate consent to serve as the next administration would be wise to avoid even the appearance of being involved in such an effort,” McConnell said in a statement, adding that President-elect Trump made a clear reference to Kennedy, his choice for Secretary of State. Health and welfare services.
The New York Times reported Friday that a lawyer who helped President Kennedy hire federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the federal government to revoke the approval of the polio vaccine.
The Times reported that attorney Aaron Siri has filed a petition to fight different vaccines and stop distribution of 13 other vaccines.
Siri, who represented Kennedy during the presidential campaign, filed a polio-related petition in 2022 on behalf of the Informed Consent Network.
For McConnell, who fought polio as a boy, the issue of banning the polio vaccine is an issue close to his heart.
One of McConnell's earliest memories is of being treated in Warm Springs, Georgia, the same place that President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited throughout his life seeking help for this incurable disease.
McConnell said that thanks to “modern medicine and a mother's love,” he was spared the physical destruction suffered by President Roosevelt and thousands of other Americans in the first half of the 20th century.
“It is thanks to a miraculous combination of modern medicine and a mother's love that a normal, paralyzed-free life since the age of two has been possible for me. But for the millions of people who will come after me, “The real miracle was the saving power of the polio vaccine,” he said.
“For decades, I have worked with dedicated supporters from Rotary International to the Gates Foundation and used my public platform to pursue cures for generations to come. I have never flinched from standing up against misinformation that threatens the advancement of life-saving medicine, and I will not do so today,” he declared.
Mr. McConnell's comments could be the harbinger of a fierce battle over Mr. Kennedy's nomination.
Kennedy, a longtime Democrat, founded Children's Health Defense, a nonprofit organization he says is dedicated to ending childhood health epidemics by eliminating exposure to toxic substances. It is called.
News outlets describe it as an anti-vaccine advocacy group that has filed nearly 30 federal and state lawsuits against vaccines and other public health mandates in the past four years.
If approved, Kennedy would oversee the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health.
But, Kennedy told NPR, November interview “We're not going to take the vaccine away from anyone.”
But he also argued that “the science around vaccine safety is currently particularly flawed.”
“We will ensure that these scientific studies are carried out so that people can make informed choices about vaccinating themselves and their children,” he vowed.
