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Sen. Susan Collins should please oppose the confirmation of Robert Kennedy Jr., nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services. I am a 76-year-old polio survivor. I have led a good, full, active life, although currently my activities are limited by post-polio syndrome. Kennedy has been vocal in his criticism to the polio vaccine, ignoring the available evidence regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine:
The Salk vaccine became available in 1955, and within a year, the number of cases in the country was reduced by 50 percent.
In 1988, the World Health Organization began a vaccination campaign to eradicate the polio virus worldwide. By 2021, the number of cases fell from a high of 350,000 to six.
Estimates are that since 1988 the vaccine has prevented 20 million cases of paralytic polio and avoided 1.5 million deaths.
I understand Kennedy has begun to backpedal on his criticism of the polio vaccine, but I believe he will continue to oppose the use of current vaccines and the development of new ones. Collins should please remember her experience with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. According to news reports, he assured her that Roe v. Wade was settled law, and she assured us we had no need to worry. In 2022, he voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
I hope Collins won’t be taken in again. We need all the tools we can muster in the fights against diseases like smallpox, measles, polio and COVID.
Anne Stocking
Lamoine
