‘It’s an abhorrent lie’: Trump’s Health Secretary pick is set on spreading mistruths about polio vaccines

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may prove to be the biggest risk to public health since polio itself.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was handpicked by president-elect Donald Trump to lead the largest healthcare organization in the world. With a budget of over $1.7 trillion, the Department of Health and Human services includes the FDA and the CDC, and provides care for nearly half of America’s total population – and the man who will run it just said the polio vaccine is more dangerous than the disease.

In a video on X posted by Republicans Against Trump, RFK Jr. can be seen in an interview saying that the polio vaccine “killed many, many more people” than the virus itself.

According to Dr. Angela Rasmussen, Kennedy’s claim is an “abhorrent lie.”

According to the World Health Organization, the polio virus killed or paralyzed over half a million people a year in the mid-20th century. After the first successful vaccine was created by US physician Jonas Salk in the early 1950’s, the vaccine was distributed around the world a few years later. In 1957, annual cases plummeted from 58 000 to 5600. By 1961, there were only 161 cases. In 1994, the disease was entirely eliminated in the Americas, and in 2000, The “wild” strain of the disease is currently considered eradicated in North America. By 2021, only 2 cases of wild poliovirus were recorded.

While Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated that he doesn’t intend to “take away anyone’s vaccines,” many fear that the damage has already been done. Over 75 Nobel laureates petitioned the Senate not to confirm Kennedy’s nomination to Trump’s Cabinet, saying that if appointed, RFK Jr. “would put the public’s health in jeopardy.” The efficacy of the polio vaccine is far from the first piece of medical knowledge that RFK Jr. has cast doubt on. He recently claimed that the HPV vaccine caused increased risk of cervical cancer, and has often repeated the completely debunked notion that vaccines cause autism.

Kennedy’s erosion of trust in public health norms extends past vaccines. He claims that fluoride in American tap water is responsible for turning children gay and trans, and claims that raw milk is a healthier alternative to pasteurized – despite raw milk being a hotbed for disease such as bird flu.

While Kennedy himself claims that he won’t touch vaccines, his allies are taking aim at them. Aaron Siri, a lawyer for Kennedy, recently petitioned the FDA to revoke approval for the polio vaccine. The news drew ire from Senate Mitch McConnell who contracted the disease at the age of two and credits his survival to the vaccine. In a statement, McConnell said “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,” casting further skepticism on RFK Jr.’s already tenuous nomination.

While Donald Trump has declared himself a “believer” in the polio vaccine, his allies have further contributed to skepticism. Far-right Representative Marjorie Taylor Green recently made a completely unsupported claim that the Covid-19 vaccine is responsible for “all time high” cancer rates. Trump and his allies depend upon misinformation in order to court voters, and it’s likely that his administration will use similar tactics in order to give themselves a political groundwork for further their agenda. Robert F. Kennedy is only a small cog in the Trump disinformation machine, and according to the man himself, he’s content to keep on turning.