LONDON (AP) 鈥 U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the country is pulling its support from the vaccines alliance Gavi, saying the organization has 鈥渋gnored the science" and 鈥渓ost the public trust.鈥
A video of Kennedy鈥檚 short speech was shown to a Gavi meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, where was hoping to raise at least $9 billion for the next five years.
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, mentioned Gavi's partnership with the World Health Organization during COVID-19, accusing them of silencing 鈥渄issenting views鈥 and 鈥渓egitimate questions鈥 about vaccine safety. His speech also cast doubt on the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine 鈥 which WHO and other health agencies have long deemed to be safe and effective.
that its 鈥渦tmost concern is the health and safety of children,鈥 adding that any decision it makes on vaccines to buy is done in accordance with recommendations issued by WHO's expert vaccine group.
Some doctors in the United States criticized the decision. Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Center at the Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia, said it was 鈥渋ncredibly dangerous" and warned that defunding immunization would put millions of children at risk.
Gavi is a public-private partnership including WHO, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation and the World Bank, and it is estimated that the vaccination programs have saved 18 million lives. The United States has long been one of its biggest supporters; before President Donald Trump鈥檚 re-election, the country had pledged $1 billion through 2030.
In just under four minutes, Kennedy called on Gavi 鈥渢o justify the $8 billion America has provided in funding since 2001,鈥 saying officials must 鈥渃onsider the best science available, even when that science contradicts established paradigms.鈥 Kennedy said until that happens, the U.S. won鈥檛 contribute further to Gavi.
The health secretary zeroed in on the COVID-19 vaccine, which WHO, Gavi and other health authorities have recommended for pregnant women, saying they are at higher risk of severe disease. Kennedy called that a 鈥渜uestionable鈥 recommendation; his
He also criticized Gavi for funding of a rollout a vaccine to prevent diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis in poorer countries, saying he'd seen research that concluded that young girls who got the vaccine were more likely to die from all other causes than children who weren鈥檛 immunized.
Gavi said scientists had reviewed all available data, including any studies that raised concerns, and that the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine has 鈥減layed a key role in helping halve childhood mortality.鈥
Some observational studies have shown that vaccinated girls do have a higher death rate compared to unvaccinated children, but there is no evidence the deaths are caused by the vaccine. But Offit said the studies cited by Kennedy were not convincing and that research examining links between vaccinations and deaths did not prove a causal connection.
鈥淭here's no mechanism here which makes biological sense for why the (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine) might result in more children dying,鈥 Offit said.
Doctors Without Borders on Thursday predicted 鈥渃ountless children will die from vaccine-preventable diseases" as a result of the U.S. withdrawing support for Gavi.
鈥淭o invoke misleading and inaccurate claims about vaccine safety as the pretext for cutting all global vaccine funding is cruel and reckless,鈥 said Mihir Mankad, the charity's global health advocacy and policy director in the U.S. 鈥淲hen we vaccinate in the community, parents line up for hours to give their children a chance to be protected from these deadly diseases.
鈥淔or these children, vaccination programs ... are a matter of life and death.鈥
came on the same day that the previous 17-member panel this month and with a seven-member group that includes several vaccine skeptics.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
