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State Department agrees to reinstate vaccine funding for Gavi
News brief
Today at 3:12 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Childhood Vaccines
The chair of the Senate appropriations committee said yesterday that the State Department has agreed to disburse US funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The department has been withholding $600 million appropriated by Congress for the international partnership, which helps poor countries buy and administer vaccines that protect children against 20 infectious diseases. The funding was reportedly held up over objections from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized Gavi for its use of vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal and has said the group doesn’t take vaccine safety seriously.
Although evidence reviews by the World Health Organization (WHO) have concluded that small doses of thimerosal in multidose vaccines do not cause harm, Gavi has already begun to phase out vaccines containing the preservative.
Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and committee chair, credited the decision to pressure from committee members, including a letter sent in May to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“It is welcome news that following our recent outreach, the State Department has committed to contributing the full $600 million for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance,” Collins said in a statement. “I have worked to ensure that the Department uses this funding Congress appropriated to replenish U.S. funding to GAVI, an organization that plays a critical role in averting the spread of preventable diseases globally and stopping outbreaks before they reach U.S. borders.”
Funds were set to expire
Launched by the WHO, World Bank, UNICEF, and the Gates Foundation in 2000, Gavi has vaccinated more than 1.1 billion children across 78 low- and middle-income countries since its inception. According to a recent KFF analysis, the US government has been Gavi’s third-largest financial contributor in recent years and has provided 13% of its funding since inception.
The $600 million approved by Congress for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 was set to expire on September 30.
“We are grateful to the United States for its intention to obligate funding to Gavi,” a Gavi spokesperson said in an email to CIDRAP News.
State Department agrees to reinstate vaccine funding for Gavi
News brief
Today at 3:12 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Childhood Vaccines
The chair of the Senate appropriations committee said yesterday that the State Department has agreed to disburse US funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The department has been withholding $600 million appropriated by Congress for the international partnership, which helps poor countries buy and administer vaccines that protect children against 20 infectious diseases. The funding was reportedly held up over objections from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized Gavi for its use of vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal and has said the group doesn’t take vaccine safety seriously.
Although evidence reviews by the World Health Organization (WHO) have concluded that small doses of thimerosal in multidose vaccines do not cause harm, Gavi has already begun to phase out vaccines containing the preservative.
Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and committee chair, credited the decision to pressure from committee members, including a letter sent in May to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“It is welcome news that following our recent outreach, the State Department has committed to contributing the full $600 million for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance,” Collins said in a statement. “I have worked to ensure that the Department uses this funding Congress appropriated to replenish U.S. funding to GAVI, an organization that plays a critical role in averting the spread of preventable diseases globally and stopping outbreaks before they reach U.S. borders.”
Funds were set to expire
Launched by the WHO, World Bank, UNICEF, and the Gates Foundation in 2000, Gavi has vaccinated more than 1.1 billion children across 78 low- and middle-income countries since its inception. According to a recent KFF analysis, the US government has been Gavi’s third-largest financial contributor in recent years and has provided 13% of its funding since inception.
The $600 million approved by Congress for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 was set to expire on September 30.
“We are grateful to the United States for its intention to obligate funding to Gavi,” a Gavi spokesperson said in an email to CIDRAP News.