Ally of RFK Jr. Wants Halt to Polio Vaccinations in US

An ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. petitioned the FDA in 2022 to pull government approval for administering the polio vaccine—used in the US since 1955—for young children until it's been studied more. Aaron Siri, a lawyer who worked for Kennedy's presidential campaign and is helping him choose health officials to hire for President-elect Trump's administration, has filed petitions to halt distribution of a dozen other vaccines, including the one for hepatitis B, Axios reports. The polio vaccine has been considered safe and has led to the elimination of natural transmission of the virus in the US.

The petitions want trials including placebos to be conducted, which would mean some children would be excluded from the shots, before approval can be reinstated. Because polio is known to put people at risk of paralysis and seizure of major organs, which can be fatal, that's considered unethical, per the New York Times. "You're substituting a theoretical risk for a real risk," said a vaccine expert, Dr. Paul A. Offit of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "The real risks are the diseases." Work on the current version began in 1977, and the vaccine has been examined in more than 300 studies, another expert said. More than 280 million people worldwide have received it, he said.

Kennedy, who was picked by Trump to be secretary of Health and Human Services, has appeared to soften his previously stated anti-vaccine positions. But he's still solid with Siri, who has joined Kennedy in Florida to interview job candidates. Applicants have been asked their views on vaccines, per the Times. "I love Aaron Siri," Kennedy said in a clip played on a recent podcast. Trump recently supported Kennedy looking into whether vaccines cause autism—a theory that began with a discredited study that's been retracted—but stopped short of expressing skepticism of all vaccines. "The polio vaccine is the greatest thing," Trump said. The FDA told Siri in February 2023 it had not made a decision on his petition. (More Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stories.)