Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, said any nominee of President-elect Donald Trump seeking Senate confirmation should “avoid” efforts to discredit the polio vaccine.
“Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven remedies are not only misinformed: they are dangerous,” McConnell said in a statement Friday. “Anyone seeking Senate consent to serve in the new administration would do well to avoid even the appearance of association with such efforts.”
The 82-year-old lawmaker’s statement appeared to take aim at Trump’s pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after a report that one of his advisers filed a petition to revoke the president’s approval. polio vaccine in 2022. This vaccine is widely considered to have stopped the disease in most parts of the world.
McConnell’s words were a sign that Kennedy, who has long pushed the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism, may face some resistance in the Senate that will soon be controlled by the Republican Party.
“Mr. Kennedy believes that the polio vaccine should be available to the public and studied thoroughly and appropriately,” said Katie Miller, Kennedy’s transition spokeswoman, in response to questions.
The New York Times reported that the petition was filed by a lawyer who was now helping Kennedy select candidates for federal health care posts in the new administration.
Any person or company can file a petition with the Food and Drug Administration, which typically responds to hundreds of inquiries regarding various food, drug, and medical issues at any given time. Most requests are denied, but the FDA is required to respond to each request in writing.
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Vaccines have proven safe and effective in laboratory trials and in real-world use in hundreds of millions of people over decades – they are considered one of the most effective public health measures in the world. ‘history.
McConnell contracted polio at age 2 but survived thanks to “the miraculous combination of modern medicine and a mother’s love,” according to the release. He praised the “saving power” of the polio vaccine for the “millions of people who came after me.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in an article on virtually eradicated polio in America and saved millions of people.” lives.
He said Kennedy should clarify his own position on the matter.
Trump announced his selection of Kennedy last month, saying Kennedy would work to protect Americans “from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and food additives.”
But the choice has sparked concern among scientists and public health officials, who fear Kennedy could end vital public health initiatives such as vaccines.
Kennedy pushed other vaccine conspiracy theories, such as that COVID-19 may have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, comments he later said were outed of their context. He repeatedly brought up the Holocaust when discussing vaccines and public health mandates.
Kennedy said he plans to overhaul the Department of Health and Human Services, an agency with sprawling scope and a $1.3 trillion budget, if approved. He suggested the FDA was beholden to “big pharma” and his anti-vaccine nonprofit called on him to stop using COVID-19 vaccines.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, his nonprofit group, Children’s Health Defense, asked the FDA to stop the use of all COVID vaccines. The group alleged that the FDA is beholden to “big drug companies” because it receives much of its budget from industry fees and that some employees who left the agency continued to work for pharmaceutical manufacturers. drugs.
Children’s Health Defense currently has a lawsuit against a number of news organizations, including the Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking steps to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and vaccines against COVID-19. Kennedy took leave of the group when he announced his candidacy for president, but he is listed as one of his lawyers in the lawsuit.
© 2024 The Canadian Press