'Dangerous': Mitch McConnell — a polio survivor — slams proposal to eliminate polio vaccine

13 December 2024

Robert f. Kennedy Jr.'s fight to be confirmed as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may have hit a major snag in the form of a top Republican senator.

On Friday, the New York Times reported that attorney Aaron Siri — who is helping anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist RFK Jr. select potential appointees to serve throughout HHS — once asked for the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine for infants, which has been in place for decades. Siri is also seeking to undo approval of over a dozen other childhood vaccines, and has challenged vaccine mandates in multiple states, with mixed results.

While RFK Jr. has said he wouldn't restrict any access to childhood vaccines if confirmed to lead HHS, Siri's position on the polio vaccine has ruffled the feathers of outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who suffered from polio as a child. Politico reported Friday evening that the Kentucky Republican is coming out swinging against any attempts to curtail access to the polio vaccine.

"[Any] efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous," McConnell said.

The outgoing Senate Republican leader went on to state that the "miraculous combination of modern medicine and a mother’s love" helped him avoid being paralyzed from age two. He added, though, that for millions of other children, "the real miracle was the saving power of the polio vaccine."

“Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts," he continued.

The polio vaccine is attributed to Jonas Salk, who rolled it out in the 1950s to great acclaim. Author Jon Cohen wrote that Salk became a cultural megastar after introducing an effective polio vaccine and refusing to profit off it. According to Cohen: "Airplane pilots would announce that [Salk] was on board, and passengers would burst into applause. Hotels routinely would upgrade him into their penthouse suites. A meal at a restaurant inevitably meant an interruption from an admirer." The vaccine prevented paralysis in roughly 20 million children by 1988.

Click here to read Politico's full report.

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