Actress and polio survivor Mia Farrow has spoken out against efforts to revoke federal approval of the polio vaccine, sharing her harrowing childhood experience with the disease. Her criticism comes amid reports that a lawyer associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is pushing to withdraw the vaccine’s approval for children.
“No RFK Jr., we cannot go back to this,” wrote Farrow alongside a photo of leg braces once used by her late adopted son, Thaddeus Farrow, who was paralyzed from the waist down after contracting polio. “I too had polio as a child — one year before the vaccine. Thanks to the vaccine, kids don’t have to go through that nightmare today.”
Farrow’s personal battle with polio began in 1954 when she was just nine years old, during a widespread outbreak that affected approximately 500 people in Los Angeles County, California. The young Farrow was rushed to Los Angeles General Hospital’s isolation unit, where she would spend months separated from her family. Her experience was marked by fear, isolation, and the harsh realities of medical treatment in the pre-vaccine era.
“I would see them once a week — thru the glass window at the end of my ward. I could not walk. It was terrifying. Kids died. Iron lungs were awful,” Farrow wrote on social media, describing her experience in isolation.
The severity of the protocols at the time meant that all of Farrow’s personal belongings were burned to prevent the spread of the virus to her six siblings. In a 2006 interview with The Guardian, Farrow revealed that the experience “marked the end of my childhood” and left her with “embryonic survival skills.”
Her connection to polio’s devastating effects extends beyond her personal experience. Her adopted son Thaddeus, who was paralyzed from the waist down due to polio, required leg braces throughout his life. This dual perspective as both a survivor and a mother has fueled Farrow’s advocacy for vaccination and her work with UNICEF on polio vaccination campaigns worldwide.
The controversy centers around Aaron Siri, a lawyer helping Kennedy select top health officials for the incoming administration. Siri filed a 2022 petition requesting the Food and Drug Administration withdraw its approval of a standard polio vaccine for babies and children, claiming further safety studies are needed.
In her role as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Farrow has traveled extensively to support polio eradication efforts, particularly in countries where the disease remains a threat. Her advocacy work has taken her to numerous regions where she has witnessed firsthand the continuing impact of polio in communities without universal vaccine access.
The disease’s impact continues today. In 2022, a resident in Rockland County, New York, was paralyzed due to polio, and earlier this year, a child was paralyzed in Gaza, marking the region’s first case in over two decades.
Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, emphasized the ongoing necessity of vaccination: “We still need to give the polio vaccine as long as these strains are in the environment.”
Kennedy’s potential appointment as HHS Secretary has raised concerns among public health experts. If confirmed, he would oversee an agency with 80,000 employees, including thousands of scientists and public health experts, despite having no formal medical or public health training.
Farrow shared a powerful image of children in iron lung respirators in the 1950s at the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in California, serving as a stark reminder of the pre-vaccine era.