A lawyer who currently helps Robert F. Kennedy Jr. select federal health officials once asked the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval for several important childhood vaccines, including the polio vaccine.

Aaron Siri, managing partner at Siri & Glimstad LLP, has in the past called on the FDA to suspend or withdraw various vaccines entirely – a move that raises concerns given Kennedy’s historic anti-vaccine rhetoric.

In 2022, Siri called on the FDA Commissioner on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network to stop the use of the polio vaccine in infants and young children.

The petition claimed the vaccine had not been properly tested to ensure it was safe, even though its decades of use protected millions of children from contracting the disease, which can cause paralysis.

He filed a similar motion in 2020 to withdraw the hepatitis B vaccine for children.

In 2021, Siri again called on the FDA, on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network, to suspend the use of six childhood vaccines that protect against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and hepatitis A until information about the aluminum they contain is released.

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It appears that Siri already has a strong influence on Kennedy, helping him interview and select potential executives for top federal healthcare positions. A person familiar with the conversation told this New York Timesthat the two asked potential candidates about their opinions on vaccines.

The Revelation, first reported by the New York Timesis alarming because of Kennedy’s status as nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary.

Kennedy already faces an uphill battle for Senate approval of his nomination given his history of expressing anti-vaccination sentiments and spreading health-related conspiracy theories. Many, including 75 Nobel laureates, have called on senators not to confirm him because of his criticism of conventional medicine.

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In the past, Kennedy has linked vaccinations to autism – a debunked theory without scientific or medical evidence. He has claimed that “no vaccine” is safe and effective – which is also false.

He has also attributed mental health problems that cause people to commit mass shootings to pharmaceuticals. Both antidepressant use and mass shootings have increased in recent decades, according to Ragy Girgis, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University. However, the scientific community has found “no biological plausibility” of a connection between the two New York Times.

Vaccinations are proven to be a critical and effective tool in preventing the spread of deadly diseases.

Kennedy has reassured people that he won’t “take away” the vaccines like Siri is doing, and claimed he is not an anti-vaxxer. But it’s unclear what he will do with the vaccines if confirmed.

A spokesman for Kennedy said this New York Times“Mr. Kennedy has long said he wants transparency on vaccines and to give people choice.”