Aaron Siri, a lawyer tied to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., filed requests in 2022 to have the Food and Drug Administration remove approval for the polio vaccine, claiming it “does not prevent intestinal infection and therefore does not prevent poliovirus transmission.”
The New York Times was the first to uncover Siri’s request.
Kennedy was nominated to be the Trump administration’s head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has expressed his skepticism about the benefits of vaccines.
Siri’s petition included letters of support from those also opposing the authorization of the vaccine.
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In early 2023, Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, responded to Siri’s petition. Marks responded by saying the FDA had “been unable to reach a decision on your petition because it raises issues requiring further review and analysis by agency officials.” Marks added that Siri would be informed as soon as the FDA made a decision on the petition.
Kennedy, a skeptic of vaccines, has said he is not “anti-vaccine.” However, he has made numerous claims about vaccines that have been disputed by major health organizations. One such widely debunked claim is that vaccines are tied to autism.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that most people infected with poliovirus, the virus that causes polio, do not experience symptoms. In severe cases of polio, it can cause permanent disability and death. Vaccines have largely eliminated the spread of infections in the U.S.
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Nationally, 92% of children are fully vaccinated against polio by 24 months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The vaccine is considered 99% effective after three doses.
Dozens of Nobel laureates have asked senators to reject Kennedy’s nomination based on concerns that Kennedy would “put the public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership in the health sciences.”
A statement from the Trump transition team said, “Mr. Kennedy would help to restore the integrity of our healthcare and make America healthy again.”
