President-elect Donald Trump has praised the polio vaccine as the “greatest thing,” but a lawyer affiliated with his pick to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services has petitioned the FDA to revoke approval of the vaccine used in the United States.
The lawyer, Aaron Siri, filed the petition on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network, a nonprofit that challenges the safety of vaccines and vaccine mandates. Siri has been working closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The petition asks the FDA to withdraw or suspend approval for the inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine until a properly controlled and powered double-blind trial is conducted to assess the safety of the vaccine. The petition cites the fact that there was no placebo-controlled clinical trial to prove the safety of the vaccine, but experts say this distorts reality to make it seem like the risks of polio vaccination could outweigh the benefits.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that no serious adverse events related to the use of inactivated polio vaccine have been documented. Rarely, people can have reactions to the vaccine if they are allergic to certain types of antibiotics.
The World Health Organization has estimated that polio killed or paralyzed more than half a million people globally each year in the 1950s, before the advent of a vaccine. The vaccine has greatly reduced the incidence of the disease around the world, putting the goal of disease eradication on the cusp of becoming a reality.
However, polio vaccination is not without controversy. Some people believe that the risks of vaccination outweigh the benefits, and that the vaccine can cause serious adverse effects. The issue has been fueled by misinformation and misconceptions about vaccination.
If Kennedy is confirmed as head of HHS, he will oversee the FDA and could take the rare step of intervening in the review process. Trump has also praised the polio vaccine, stating that it is the “greatest thing.” However, he has also expressed reservations about vaccines in general, stating that more research is needed and that he would consider eliminating some vaccines for children if he believed they were not beneficial.
The Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor, has urged caution on the issue, warning that undermining public confidence in vaccines is “uninformed” and “dangerous.” The FDA is continuing to review the petition, and a decision has not yet been made.