Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell urged US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees to avoid undermining public confidence in vaccinesin what appeared to be a direct critique of Trump’s health secretary nominee, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, emphasized the lifesaving power of vaccines in a statement released Friday.
McConnell’s stance on vaccines
“Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed—they’re dangerous,” the news agency AP qouted McConnell. He warned that Senate confirmation would be challenging for nominees associated with vaccine scepticism.
The 82-year-old senator’s remarks come amid reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post that an advisor to Kennedy filed a petition in 2022 seeking to revoke the approval of the polio vaccine. The petition also called for pausing the distribution of several other vaccines.
McConnell, who contracted polio at age two and credits the polio vaccine for saving millions of lives, praised the combination of modern medicine and his mother’s care for his survival.
Kennedy’s nomination sparks controversy
Kennedy, a long-time critic of vaccines, has advanced debunked claims linking vaccines to autism and recently suggested that Covid-19 vaccines could have been “ethnically targeted,” sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, a comment he later clarified as being taken out of context.
His nomination as health secretary has drawn widespread concern from public health officials, scientists, and lawmakers. Critics fear Kennedy’s views could lead to the dismantling of vital public health initiatives.
Trump defended his decision to nominate Kennedy, praising his stance on protecting Americans from harmful chemicals and pharmaceutical products.
However, Kennedy’s history as an anti-vaccine advocate and his leadership in the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense have sparked alarm.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also responded to the reports, calling Kennedy’s association with the anti-vaccine petition “outrageous and dangerous.” Schumer demanded that Kennedy clarify his stance on vaccines, particularly the polio vaccine, which has been instrumental in eradicating the disease in the US.
Katie Miller, a transition spokeswoman for Kennedy, stated, “Mr. Kennedy believes the polio vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied.”
Kennedy has signalled his intent to reform the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) if confirmed, criticizing the FDA’s relationship with the pharmaceutical industry and questioning its independence.
His nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense, has a pending lawsuit against several news organizations, including the Associated Press, alleging antitrust violations for actions to combat vaccine misinformation.
