The lawyer assisting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in selecting federal health officials for the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump has filed a petition urging the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine.

The vaccine has safeguarded millions of people for decades against a virus that can cause paralysis or death.

This effort represents just one facet of the broader campaign led by the lawyer, Aaron Siri, who has petitioned for the suspension of 13 other vaccines including COVID as he challenges vaccines across the board and across the country, reported the New York Times on Friday.

RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vaccine Campaign Precedes Him

Long before COVID-19, Kennedy, Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, gained influence through his anti-vaccine nonprofit Children's Health Defense, spreading fear and distrust about vaccines globally. Kennedy has long promoted the debunked link between vaccines and autism.

Read Also: Trump's HHS Pick RFK Jr. Has a Long History of Challenging Global Health Policies

One of Siri's criticisms of vaccines is that they've not not undergone randomized, double-blind clinical trials; he says they should be removed from the market until such trials are conducted. This approach would involve denying millions of American children access to polio shots, which public health experts consider unethical due to the known risks of polio.

"You're substituting a theoretical risk for a real risk," said Dr. Paul A. Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, according to the Times.

Polio vaccination has been part of the routine childhood immunization schedule in the United States for decades.

Though Kennedy has stated that he does not intend to restrict access to any vaccines, his ongoing collaboration with Siri raises concerns that vaccine policy could face intensified scrutiny.

What Say You, Donald Trump?

In an interview published Thursday by Time magazine, Trump said he's going to direct Kennedy to study the rising rates of autism diagnoses and that he'd consider getting rid of some vaccines for children, falsely suggesting autism may be caused by vaccines.

"We're going to have a big discussion. The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there's something causing it," Trump said.

Bad News For Pharma Companies

Pharmaceutical companies that produce either standalone polio vaccines or in combination with other immunizations – GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) and the privately owned Bilthoven Biologicals – are not likely to view Kennedy and Siri's anti-vaccine push in a positive light.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) no longer produces the so-called inactivated polio vaccine, which is the only polio vaccine given in the U.S. since 2000, though the company played a key role in the eradication of polio and smallpox.

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