Karmactive Staff
Aaron Siri, a lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has filed petitions seeking to revoke FDA approval of the polio vaccine and suspend distribution of 13 other vaccines. This development comes as Kennedy prepares for potential confirmation hearings, having been named as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for health secretary.
Legal Challenge to Vaccine Approvals
Siri’s petition, filed in 2022 on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), targets vaccines that have been fundamental to U.S. public health for decades. The polio vaccine has helped eliminate natural polio transmission in the United States since 1979.
“You want to get the vaccine — it’s America, a free country,” Siri told Arizona legislators last year while discussing his concerns about vaccines. His legal actions include petitions to withdraw FDA approvals for polio and hepatitis B vaccines, while seeking to “pause distribution” of 13 other vaccines.
Public Health Expert Responses
Dr. Kathryn Edwards, a Vanderbilt University vaccine scientist, warns about polio risks: “It’s an airplane ride away,” referring to polio’s continued global presence. In 2022, an unvaccinated man in New York became paralyzed after contracting polio.
Dr. Stanley Plotkin, who invented the rubella vaccine in the 1960s, stated: “I find him laughable in many ways — except, of course, that he’s a danger to public health.”
Vaccine Safety and Research
According to Ayman Chit, head of vaccines for North America at Sanofi, the polio vaccine’s development began in 1977 and included more than 300 studies before and after approval, with more than 280 million people receiving it worldwide.
Dr. Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, noted: “There are issues that he raises, such as this one, that really deserve to be studied carefully. But it’s got to be done carefully — it’s hard to do.”
Political Context
At Trump transition headquarters in Florida, Siri has joined Kennedy in questioning candidates for top health positions about their views on vaccines, according to someone who observed the interactions but requested anonymity. Trump told Time magazine he would conduct “very serious testing” and might eliminate vaccines if deemed “dangerous” or “not beneficial.”
However, Trump specifically addressed the polio vaccine on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “The polio vaccine is the greatest thing. If someone told me get rid of the polio vaccine, they’re going to have to work really hard to convince me.”
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Current Impact and Future Concerns
The U.S. faces rising cases of measles and whooping cough amid falling vaccination rates. Lawrence O. Gostin, public health law expert at Georgetown University, commented on Siri’s legal strategy: “This is a way to hobble a public health agency like the FDA — you can just drown them in paperwork so they can’t do their work.”
The FDA reports processing over 1.2 million pages of records and spending more than $3.5 million responding to Siri’s information requests. Recently, Siri sent an “official demand” letter to current Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, requiring preservation of all documents across health agencies through January 21, 2025.
Katie Miller, Kennedy’s spokesperson, stated: “Mr. Kennedy has long said that he wants transparency in vaccines and to give people choice.” Meanwhile, public health experts continue monitoring the potential impact on disease prevention efforts.
