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https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/06/25/g-s1-74554/rfk-jr-vaccine-safety-gavi
The international vaccine agency, Gavi, has strongly rejected Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s accusations that it was not following scientific data on vaccines, after he said the U.S. would halt all contributions unless the body made changes to its practices.
Kennedy's remarks were made at a Gavi pledging summit in Brussels on Wednesday, where countries and philanthropies promise to deliver 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 mission of making medicine affordable to everyone but then pivoting to criticisms. He says the group "ignores the science" when it comes to vaccine safety and calls on Gavi to "re-earn the public trust" before the U.S. would reconsider its decision to end U.S. contributions.
Supporters of global vaccines for children are on high alert after published remarks made by Kennedy, who said the U.S. would halt its contributions to Gavi, the international vaccine alliance.
The international agency, established in 2000, says it has played a role in vaccinating 1.1 billion children against a long list of potentially debilitating diseases — from polio to malaria to mpox to measles — and claims credit for saving 20 million lives. Global health experts say Gavi is instrumental in getting vaccinations to lower-resource countries, providing cash to buy vaccines and support for disease outbreak response.
The U.S. has been one of the largest donors to Gavi, funding about 13% of the agency's budget. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. pledged $2.53 billion starting in September 2022 through the year 2030.
In a statement, Gavi said that the organization's "utmost concern is the safety and health of children" and that it rejected Kennedy's accusations that it was not following scientific data on vaccines.
The international vaccine agency, Gavi, has strongly rejected Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s accusations that it was not following scientific data on vaccines, after he said the U.S. would halt all contributions unless the body made changes to its practices.
Kennedy's remarks were made at a Gavi pledging summit in Brussels on Wednesday, where countries and philanthropies promise to deliver 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 mission of making medicine affordable to everyone but then pivoting to criticisms. He says the group "ignores the science" when it comes to vaccine safety and calls on Gavi to "re-earn the public trust" before the U.S. would reconsider its decision to end U.S. contributions.
Supporters of global vaccines for children are on high alert after published remarks made by Kennedy, who said the U.S. would halt its contributions to Gavi, the international vaccine alliance.
The international agency, established in 2000, says it has played a role in vaccinating 1.1 billion children against a long list of potentially debilitating diseases — from polio to malaria to mpox to measles — and claims credit for saving 20 million lives. Global health experts say Gavi is instrumental in getting vaccinations to lower-resource countries, providing cash to buy vaccines and support for disease outbreak response.
The U.S. has been one of the largest donors to Gavi, funding about 13% of the agency's budget. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. pledged $2.53 billion starting in September 2022 through the year 2030.
In a statement, Gavi said that the organization's "utmost concern is the safety and health of children" and that it rejected Kennedy's accusations that it was not following scientific data on vaccines.
