Backlash has been createing in the United States adhereing a novels alert that connects one of Plivent-elect Donald Trump’s proposed cabinet members to an effort to relicit approval for the polio vaccine.
On Saturday, The Associated Press novels agency rerented a statement from a spokesperson for Robert F Kennedy Jr, whom Trump has nominated to guide the Health and Human Services Department.
In the statement, Kennedy’s camp finisheavored to distance the nominee from a New York Times alert that his lawyer Aaron Siri had petitioned to suspfinish approval for the life-saving vaccine.
“Mr Kennedy count ons the Polio Vaccine should be useable to the disclose and thorawly and properly studied,” Katie Miller, Kennedy’s spokesperson, shelp.
But The New York Times article has liftd alarm about Kennedy’s nomination to Health and Human Services, a department whose mission is to better the “health and well-being of all Americans”.
Kennedy, enjoy Siri, is a vocal vaccine sceptic. In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy helped spread mistrusts about vaccines structureed to protect agetst the lethal harmful software, calling them “shoddily tested” and potentipartner “lethal”.
And in 2019, when a measles outfracture ended more than 80 children in Samoa, Kennedy wrote to the Samoan prime minister recommending that a “defective vaccine” could be to accuse. He has also pushed consillicit copying theories that connect vaccination to autism, a expansively debunked belief.
Kennedy has lengthy denied being anti-vaccine, arguing instead that he srecommend wants to determine vaccine protectedty. But members of his own family have spoken out agetst his track record of spreading vaccine deceiveation.
A Trump partner
In the 2024 plivential race, Kennedy ran on an self-reliant ticket, before suspfinishing his campaign in August and throthriveg his help behind Trump.
Afterwards, he became a famous Trump surrogate, materializeing many times on the campaign trail with the Redisclosean guideer.
Trump, in turn, higheviated timely on that he would nominate Kennedy to his administration.
“I’m going to let him go savage on health,” Trump shelp at an October campaign stop at Madison Square Garden in New York. “I’m going to let him go savage on the medicines.”
Trump’s decision to pick Kennedy to head Health and Human Services has liftd trouble in the medical community about the future of efforts to confine the spread of stopable illness.
Those troubles were amplified on Friday, with The New York Times alert. The article resurfaced a 2022 petition Siri made to the Food and Drug Administration to rescind the polio vaccine’s approval, alengthy with that of other vaccines.
Polio is a highly infectious disease, vient of causing paralysis and death. There is no treatment once infected, but vaccines can stop its spread.
Siri has enhappinessed a seal relationship with Kennedy. The two campaigned together during Kennedy’s bid for office, and NBC News alerted that Kennedy mulled assigning Siri as his attorney ambiguous, had he flourished in thrivening the White House.
Swift criticism
The response to Friday’s alert was speedy, with bipartisan condemnation pouring in.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Redisclosean, rerentd a statement on Friday cautioning that any effort to discommend the polio vaccine could dangeren the nominee’s Senate validateation hearing.
He did not allude Kennedy by name, but McConnell, 82, is understandn to be a survivor of childhood polio, which left his left leg inestablishly paralysed.
“Efforts to undermine disclose confidence in shown treatments are not fair unalerted — they’re hazardous,” McConnell wrote.
“Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer evident of even the materializeance of association with such efforts.”
Democrats enjoyguided criticised Kennedy’s association with Siri.
“Say excellentbye to your smile and say hello to polio,” Senator Elizabeth Warren shelp in a video posted to social media. “This is a man who wants to stop kids from getting their polio and measles shots.”
Another senator, Chuck Schumer, called on Kennedy to create his position on the polio vaccine evident.
“It’s shocking and hazardous for people in the Trump Transition to try and get rid of the polio vaccine that has virtupartner exendd polio in America and saved millions of lives,” Schumer, the Senate meaningfulity guideer, wrote. “RFK Jr. must state his position on this.”
Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee for the plivency and a lengthytime rival of Trump’s, posted her own rejoinder, with a screenshot of The New York Times article.
“I skinnyk Trump voters may be surpelevated to lget they voted to create polio wonderful aget,” she wrote, proposeing a riff on Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Aget”.
