--- title: Mitch McConnell, Polio Victim, Defends Vaccine description: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a childhood victim of polio, spoke up in defense of vaccination Tuesday. canonical: https://time.com/3694254/mitch-mcconnell-polio-vaccines/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-03T20:31:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:07:09.854Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republican Senate Leader, a Polio Victim, Backs Vaccines og:description: It left him unable to walk until age five. og:url: https://time.com/3694254/mitch-mcconnell-polio-vaccines/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f5c62ea4bf33811/69877cc1e20a87778ea84d2c/mitch-mcconnell.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republican Senate Leader, a Polio Victim, Backs Vaccines twitter:description: It left him unable to walk until age five. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f5c62ea4bf33811/69877cc1e20a87778ea84d2c/mitch-mcconnell.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Republican Senate Leader, a Polio Victim, Backs Vaccines by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Feb 3, 2015 8:31 PM UTC  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, joined by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 27, 2015, to discuss the status of the Keystone XL Pipeline bill, following their weekly policy luncheon. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, joined by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 27, 2015, to discuss the status of the Keystone XL Pipeline bill, following their weekly policy luncheon.J. Scott Applewhite—AP by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Feb 3, 2015 8:31 PM UTC Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he supports the use of vaccinations to prevent diseases, drawing on his personal experience with polio, which he contracted as a two-year old. The issue has gained national attention as potential Republican presidential contenders debate the proper “balance” of parental choice and public health, as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie put it this week. “As a victim of polio myself I’m a big fan of vaccinations and if I were a parent who had a child … being subject to getting any particular disease I would come down on the side of vaccinations,” said McConnell. McConnell’s polio left him [unable to walk until he was five](http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2009/07/17/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-mitch-mcconnell). Once one of [the most-feared diseases](http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/10/16/162670836/wiping-out-polio-how-the-u-s-snuffed-out-a-killer) in the United States, polio infected tens of thousands of children at its height, killing or paralyzing thousands. A vaccine was introduced in 1955, eliminating the disease from the U.S. in 1979. The Republican Senate leader joined other prominent voices in his party who have spoken up in favor of vaccination since a measles outbreak led to Christie’s comments. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal [also argued in favor](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/rubio-jindal-latest-weigh-vaccine-debate-n299496) of vaccination Tuesday. Earlier in the day, House Speaker John Boehner said that “all children ought to be vaccinated.” As my [colleagues](http://time.com/3693977/2016-presidential-race-measles-chris-christie-rand-paul-hillary-clinton/) have reported, the scientific consensus overwhelmingly supports widespread vaccinations to protect the public from harmful diseases. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3694254/mitch-mcconnell-polio-vaccines/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3694254/mitch-mcconnell-polio-vaccines/"},"headline":"Republican Senate Leader, a Polio Victim, Backs Vaccines","datePublished":"2015-02-03T20:31:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:07:09.854Z","description":"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a childhood victim of polio, spoke up in defense of vaccination Tuesday.","url":"https://time.com/3694254/mitch-mcconnell-polio-vaccines/","keywords":["Congress","Mitch McConnell","Vaccines","measles"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f5c62ea4bf33811/69877cc1e20a87778ea84d2c/mitch-mcconnell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Rogers","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f5c62ea4bf33811/69877cc1e20a87778ea84d2c/mitch-mcconnell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn","caption":"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, joined by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 27, 2015, to discuss the status of the Keystone XL Pipeline bill, following their weekly po","creditText":"J. 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