Kennedy says US is pulling funding from global vaccine group Gavi

LONDON AP U S Wellness Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr says the country is pulling its encouragement from the vaccines alliance Gavi saying the organization has ignored the science and lost the constituents trust A video of Kennedy s short speech was shown to a Gavi meeting in Brussels on Wednesday where the organization that has paid for more than billion children to be vaccinated through routine immunization programs was hoping to raise at least billion for the next five years Kennedy a longtime vaccine skeptic mentioned Gavi s partnership with the World Strength Organization during COVID- accusing them of silencing dissenting views and legitimate questions about vaccine safety His speech also cast doubt on the diphtheria tetanus and pertussis vaccine which WHO and other wellness agencies have long deemed to be safe and effective Gavi noted in a message Thursday that its utmost concern is the soundness and safety of children adding that any decision it makes on vaccines to buy is done in accordance with recommendations issued by WHO s expert vaccine group Particular doctors in the United States criticized the decision Dr Paul Offit director of the Vaccine Center at the Children s Hospital of Philadelphia stated it was incredibly dangerous and warned that defunding immunization would put millions of children at menace 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 million lives The United States has long been one of its biggest supporters before President Donald Trump s re-election the country had pledged billion through In just under four minutes Kennedy called on Gavi to justify the billion America has provided in funding since saying authorities must consider the best science available even when that science contradicts established paradigms Kennedy disclosed until that happens the U S won t contribute further to Gavi The vitality secretary zeroed in on the COVID- vaccine which WHO Gavi and other healthcare administration have recommended for pregnant women saying they are at higher pitfall of severe syndrome Kennedy called that a questionable recommendation his U S Centers for Malady Control and Prevention in recent months stopped recommending it 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 t immunized Gavi announced scientists had reviewed all available details including any studies that raised concerns and that the diphtheria tetanus and pertussis vaccine has played a key role in helping halve childhood mortality Certain 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 declared the studies cited by Kennedy were not convincing and that research examining links between vaccinations and deaths did not prove a causal connection There s no mechanism here which makes biological sense for why the diphtheria tetanus and pertussis vaccine might product in more children dying Offit commented Doctors Without Borders on Thursday predicted countless children will die from vaccine-preventable diseases as a end of the U S withdrawing help for Gavi To invoke misleading and inaccurate alleges about vaccine safety as the pretext for cutting all global vaccine funding is cruel and reckless announced Mihir Mankad the charity s global strength advocacy and initiative director in the U S When we vaccinate in the public parents line up for hours to give their children a chance to be protected from these deadly diseases For these children vaccination programs are a matter of life and death Kennedy s recorded speech to Gavi came on the same day that his reconstituted U S vaccine advisory panel met for the first time He fired the previous -member panel this month and replaced it with a seven-member group that includes several vaccine skeptics