Renowned filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola is sounding the alarm on polio in the midst of growing uncertainty about the future of immunizations. The much-admired recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor, who contracted polio as a child, recounts his frightening experience following revelations that a close associate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has urged the FDA to reconsider its endorsement of a polio vaccine designed for children.
Coppola, known for his movie ‘Megalopolis’, describes polio as a sudden fever that lasts only a single night. In his conversation with Deadline, he elucidates how one night’s illness can lead to devastating outcomes such as difficulty breathing, which may require an iron lung, or total paralysis and inability to walk due to the damage inflicted by the fever.
He contracted polio around the age of nine which left him incapacitated and bedridden for a significant duration during his early years. Coppola remembers vividly the traumatic night when he was feverish and taken to a crowded hospital ward, where the bulk of patients were children. The overcrowding was so severe that gurneys were stacked three to four high in the corridors by far surpassing the available beds in the hospital.
As Coppola recounts his experience in the highly strained polio ward, he paints a harrowing image of children enclosed within iron lungs, their faces reflected on mirrors, crying out for their parents in confusion and fear. The sudden shift from normalcy to being trapped in steel contraptions was horrifying for these young patients.
On recounting the moment he made the shocking discovery of his lost mobility, Coppola says he attempted to stand from his bed only to fall to the ground, this was the moment he realized his incapacity to walk. His stay in the polio ward lasted ten arduous days during which he confronted the harsh reality of his condition.
A doctor subsequently informed Coppola that he might lead a long life, but the caveat was that he would likely be bound to a wheelchair all his life. However, Coppola’s father, Carmine Coppola, the famous composer of ‘The Godfather’ trilogy, could not accept this bleak prognosis for his son.
Carmine Coppola held a strong skepticism towards the conventional treatment argued for forced immobility as the remedy for polio. Deeming such methods as nonsensical, he sought alternate treatments to help his son regain mobility and live an independent life.
Against this backdrop, Carmine Coppola discovered an innovative therapy, popularised by Australian nurse Elizabeth Kenny. Her method involved getting patients to complete mild exercises, a treatment methodology known famously as the Sister Kenny system.
The acclaimed ‘Godfather’ trilogy director credits the Sister Kenny system as the primary reason for his ability to walk today, defying the initial prognosis. However, he still does not forget the gruesome sight of a hospital filled with distraught children and the relief brought about by the introduction of the Salk vaccine just a few years later.
Coppola lauded the selflessness of Dr. Jonas Salk and Alberto Sabin who made their polio vaccines freely accessible by donating their patents to the public. This action starkly contrasts today’s scenarios where pharmaceutical corporations claim exclusive rights over such vaccines.
The decline of polio, and consequently the stories of countless lives saved, was due to the vaccine, a fact Coppola commends. Given the rising incidence of polio prior to the vaccine, he considers any idea of rolling back on vaccination measures as truly baffling.
Reflecting on recent events, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, himself a polio survivor, publicly expressed his concerns following reports that Aaron Siri, a close ally of Kennedy, had called into question the use of vaccines for children. McConnell championed the polio vaccine for saving millions of lives and heralding the potential to completely eliminate the dreaded disease.
‘Not just uninformed – they’re dangerous,’ McConnell emphasized on efforts impairing public faith in proven treatments. Aaron Siri, an adviser to Kennedy, instrumental in the selection process of health officials for the forthcoming Trump administration, submitted the petition questioning vaccine safety in 2022 on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Safety group, as reported by the New York Times.
Siri further stirred controversy by challenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates and calling for a pause in the distribution of other vaccines. Kennedy’s proclivity for casting doubt on the safety and efficacy of vaccines puts him at odds with senators and complicates his attempts to gain their backing.
As these developments unfold, Trump voiced his strong belief in the polio vaccine to reporters last week. McConnell, in response, has cautioned that anyone seeking the approval of the Senate to serve in the incoming administration must avoid any association with such doubtful efforts that undermine the importance of proven treatments and vaccines.