President-elect Donald Trump dispelled rumors Monday that his administration would seek to ban the polio vaccine, telling reporters Monday, ‘that’s not going to happen.’
Questions about how Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has made a name for himself challenging the efficacy of vaccines, and on Friday the New York Times published a report that raised concerns he will attempt to ban the polio vaccine. According to the report, a lawyer assisting Kennedy with staffing the department, previously petitioned to pause the distribution of 13 vaccines while working for nonprofit Informed Consent Action Network, including a vaccine for polio.
The report spurred criticism of Kennedy’s nomination, including from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said ‘efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are … dangerous.’
When asked by reporters during a press conference from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort whether his administration would ban the vaccine, Trump replied ‘No,’ but said he wanted Kennedy ‘to come back with a report as to what he thinks’ about the polio vaccine.
‘We’re going to have reports – nothing is going to happen very quickly,’ Trump told reporters. ‘I think you’re going to find that [Kennedy] is much – he’s a very rational guy. I found him to be very rational.’
‘You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine, that’s not going to happen,’ Trump reiterated.
Trump pointed out to reporters that he has friends who have been affected by the poliovirus and noted how when they took the vaccine ‘it ended.’ He also lauded Dr. Jonas Salk, inventor of the first polio vaccine, for his efforts to help people like his friends.
While Trump’s response squashed rumors his administration was planning on banning the polio vaccine, he did raise concern about the rising rates of autism in the United States, which Kennedy has linked to vaccines in the past.
‘We’re going to look into finding why the Autism rate is so much higher than it was 20, 25, 30 years ago,’ Trump said during his response about banning the polio vaccine. ‘I mean it’s, like, 100 times higher. There’s something wrong and we’re going to try finding that.’
In response to an inquiry about the future of the polio vaccine, a Trump transition team spokesperson said, ‘Mr. Kennedy believes the Polio Vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied.’