At a press conference at Mar-a-Lago Monday, President-elect Donald Trump addressed questions about vaccine policy under his administration, telling reporters Americans would still have access to the polio vaccine under his administration.
“You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine,” he said. “That’s not going to happen.”
Trump’s comments come after the news last week that a lawyer for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, once filed to have the FDA cancel its approval of the polio vaccine.
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In 2023, officials told the lawyer the FDA had “been unable to reach a decision on your petition because it raises issues requiring further review and analysis by agency officials.”
Kennedy has said he is not “anti-vaccine.” However, he has made numerous claims about vaccines that have been disputed by major health organizations, and repeatedly tried to tie vaccines to autism. His stances have drawn bipartisan criticism from lawmakers.
On Monday, Kennedy was meeting with those lawmakers on Capitol Hill in advance of his confirmation hearing.
Republicans will have a simple majority in the next Congress and won’t need Democratic support to approve Trump’s administration picks. But it’s still not clear if Kennedy will have the support he needs.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, who suffered from polio as a child, alluded to the earlier polio report on Friday — without mentioning Kennedy’s name.
“The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives and held out the promise of eradicating a terrible disease. Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed – they’re dangerous. Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts,” he said.
