RFK reverses course on polio vaccine amid pressure from GOP

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. backed off on his long-spoken desire to revoke approval for the polio vaccine – a hint that he is attempting to calm concerns about his controversial vaccine positions after President-elect Donald Trump chose him to become the country’s next health secretary.

Kennedy’s flip flop came Monday when he told reporters he was “all for” the polio vaccine while on Capitol Hill for meetings with lawmakers ahead of what is expected to be a contentious confirmation battle, CNN reported.

Trump earlier Monday in a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-A-Lago golf club said Americans are “not going to lose the polio vaccine,” according to the network.

Some on Capitol Hill have been reluctant to jump behind Kennedy’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, reports say. The former environmental lawyer has for years advanced conspiracy theories on vaccines, autism and most recently fluoride in water.

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But it was Kennedy’s views on the polio vaccine in particular that provoked outgoing Minority Leader Mitchel McConnell (R-KY) – himself a survivor of polio – to issue a thinly veiled warning shot at the Trump pick in a statement last week.

“The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives and held out the promise of eradicating a terrible disease,” McConnell said. “Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they're dangerous. 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.”

Still, despite Kennedy's apparent reversal on the polio vaccine, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) had more questions about his views on others.

“I haven’t heard that,” Murkowski told CNN. “But then I guess it begs the question: is it just that one vaccine or kind of where is it coming from more broadly?”

The polio vaccine has been widely used in North America and Europe and studied extensively since its development in the 1950s, according to its manufacturer, and more than 280 million people have received it worldwide.