RFK Jr. says U.S. will stop funding global vaccine group over 'vaccine safety' issues

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies astatine a proceeding connected Tuesday. In a connection to Gavi, nan Vaccine Alliance, delivered connected Wednesday, he praised nan group's efforts but said nan U.S. would halt backing because Gavi "ignores nan science" of vaccine safety. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images hide caption

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Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

The world vaccine agency, Gavi, has powerfully rejected Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s accusations that it was not pursuing technological information connected vaccines, aft he said nan U.S. would halt each contributions unless nan assemblage made changes to its practices.

Kennedy's remarks were made astatine a Gavi pledging acme successful Brussels connected Wednesday, wherever countries and philanthropies committedness to present funds. A video of Kennedy's remarks, first reported by Politico and later posted by The New York Times, shows him praising Gavi for its ngo of making medicine affordable to everyone but past pivoting to criticisms. He says nan group "ignores nan science" erstwhile it comes to vaccine information and calls connected Gavi to "re-earn nan nationalist trust" earlier nan U.S. would reconsider its determination to extremity U.S. contributions.

Supporters of world vaccines for children are connected precocious alert aft published remarks made by Kennedy, who said nan U.S. would halt its contributions to Gavi, nan world vaccine alliance.

Gavi's record

The world agency, established successful 2000, says it has played a domiciled successful vaccinating 1.1 cardinal children against a agelong database of perchance debilitating diseases — from polio to malaria to mpox to bales — and claims in installments for redeeming 20 cardinal lives. Global wellness experts opportunity Gavi is instrumental successful getting vaccinations to lower-resource countries, providing rate to bargain vaccines and support for illness outbreak response.

The U.S. has been 1 of nan largest donors to Gavi, backing astir 13% of nan agency's budget. Under nan Biden administration, nan U.S. pledged $2.53 cardinal starting successful September 2022 done nan twelvemonth 2030. Of that magnitude $880 cardinal has truthful acold been dispersed.

In a statement, Gavi said that nan organization's "utmost interest is nan information and wellness of children" and that it rejected Kennedy's accusations that it was not pursuing technological information connected vaccines.

"Any determination made by Gavi pinch regards to its vaccine portfolio is made successful alignment pinch recommendations by WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts connected Immunization (SAGE), a group of independent experts that reviews each disposable information done a rigorous, transparent, and independent process. This ensures Gavi investments are grounded successful nan champion disposable subject and nationalist wellness priorities," nan connection said.

Possible impacts of defunding

Kennedy's position would not beryllium nan first clip that President Trump's squad has sought to trim U.S. support for nan agency. The management trim much than a cardinal dollars successful backing to Gavi arsenic portion of its overseas assistance shakeup earlier this year.

But Kennedy's words nevertheless spark concern that nan motive for specified cuts isn't conscionable reducing nan U.S. deficit, says Dr. William Moss, a pediatrician and professor of epidemiology astatine Johns Hopkins University. He is nan executive head of nan school's International Vaccine Access Center.

"I deliberation [Kennedy] is bringing his long-standing views based connected conspiracy theories and misinformation and disinformation astir vaccines," Moss said.

"There's nary uncertainty that we want to guarantee that nan vaccines that we usage are arsenic safe and effective arsenic possible. We each work together pinch that," Moss said. "But to put up barriers and to retreat backing based connected misguided concerns astir vaccine information is very tragic, and I don't deliberation Kennedy is speaking for astir Americans pinch this type of decision."

Without U.S. funding, Gavi will survive, Moss says. It has different donors for illustration nan United Kingdom and nan Gates Foundation, but it will person to standard backmost its operations. In fact, this week for nan replenishment convention wherever Kennedy reportedly spoke, nan Gates Foundation announced a caller $1.6 cardinal promise and encouraged others to up their donations, "warning that without renewed support, children could beryllium near susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases." (The Gates Foundation is simply a funder of NPR and this blog.)

Moss predicts that nan nonaccomplishment of each U.S. backing will apt mean "fewer vaccine introductions into galore low- and middle-income countries. We'll spot a standard backmost of immoderate of nan ample bales and rubella vaccination campaigns that Gavi supports, and immoderate of nan illness outbreak consequence that Gavi supports."

The effect of nan administration's determination to extremity backing Gavi will beryllium felt by Americans, he adds. Although nan statement does not activity successful nan United States, a reduced expertise to supply bales vaccines successful different countries could person a home impact.

"We ever opportunity bales is nan canary successful nan ember excavation and identifies weaknesses successful immunization services," Moss says. "We'll spot continued, aliases much predominant importations of bales microorganism present successful nan United States."

In an email statement, Janeen Madan Keller, lawman head of world wellness argumentation and a argumentation chap astatine nan Center for Global Development, characterized nan Trump administration's determination to destruct backing arsenic "short sighted and misguided …. The effect of these cuts connected children successful nan world's poorest countries will beryllium devastating, apt starring to an uptick successful illness and decease from vaccine-preventable diseases. Infectious diseases — for illustration bales and polio — cognize nary borders, meaning under-immunization anyplace tin person consequences everywhere." 

Freelance journalist Fran Kritz contributed reporting to this story.