RFK Jr. adviser wants FDA to revoke polio vaccine approval

The move comes as concerns grow over Kennedy’s past vaccine skepticism, which he may take action on if the Senate confirms him as head of HHS.

Kennedy said he didn’t want to take vaccines away from people, but he wanted improve science about vaccine safety so people can make “informed choices.”

Aaron Siri, the attorney, is also asking the Food and Drug Administration to suspend or withdraw approval of the hepatitis B vaccine, as well as to “suspend distribution” of 13 other vaccines. These include combination products covering tetanus, diphtheria, polio and hepatitis A.

Siri did this until its makers revealed the use of aluminum in its products, which has been linked to an increase in asthma cases.

He also said he only filed petitions on behalf of his clients, but it is unclear how many or what petitions Kennedy might have requested. A Kennedy spokeswoman said THE New York Times they did not discuss the petitions and that Siri simply advises it.

“Mr. Kennedy has long said he wants transparency in vaccines and giving people a choice,” she said.

If a vaccine such as polio were to be withdrawn from the market, it could have dangerous consequences. The disease is debilitating and incurable. The virus killed thousands of people in the United States before vaccine doses could be distributed and permanently disabled many survivors.

President-elect Donald Trump has had his share of vaccine skepticism in the past, but has admitted that the polio vaccine “is the best thing.”

“The polio vaccine is the best thing ever,” Trump said last week. “If someone said to me, ‘Get rid of the polio vaccine,’ they would have to work very hard to convince me. »

Kennedy likely has a steep hill to climb to be confirmed, but if he is, Siri will help him choose the health officials to his side. Kennedy praised Siri, saying, “No one has been a greater asset to the medical freedom movement than he. »

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Some have credited Siri for her vaccine skepticism. Dr. Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said Siri raises “points worth exploring,” such as its concerns about vaccine safety. aluminum in vaccines.

“There are questions that he raises, like this, that really deserve careful study,” Salmon said. “But it has to be done carefully – it’s hard to do.”