A lawyer working alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously demanded that the government stop distributing vaccines, and wanted to have approval withdrawn for the polio vaccine, among others, according to a report.
In addition to the the petition filed against the polio vaccine in 2022, lawyer Aaron Siri previously tried to stop 13 other vaccines, from being distributed across the country while representing the Informed Consent Action Network, as reported by the New York Times.
Of those 13 were vaccines that covered tetanus, diphtheria and hepatitis A. Siri also previously filed a petition to withdraw approval for the hepatitis B vaccine.
While cases of polio have largely diminished in the U.S. because of vaccinations, experts say the threat of the disease returning is still out there. A New York man became paralyzed in 2022 after contracting the virus while unvaccinated, as reported by CNN at the time.
"It's an airplane ride away," Dr. Kathryn Edwards, a Vanderbilt University vaccine scientist, told the Times, referring to countries or areas with lower vaccination rates.
Siri is currently working with RFK Jr., who Donald Trump nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, to select health officials to work under the administration. Siri told the Times that the petition were on behalf of clients.
RFK Jr. has been a vocal vaccine skeptic, previously saying on a Fox News interview in 2023 that "there's no vaccine that is safe and effective."
The former presidential candidate also chairs the Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccination nonprofit, which has filed dozens of lawsuits challenging public health mandates and vaccines, as reported by NPR.
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