In a controversial and, arguably, long overdue decision, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the defunding of Gavi, the Global Vaccine Alliance. This global health initiative is heavily supported by billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

In an unapologetic press release this past Wednesday, Kennedy laid out the concerns that led to the funding halt. "A major concern that I share with the President is how the World Health Organization and Gavi partnered together during the COVID-19 pandemic, to recommend best practices for social media companies to silence dissenting views, to stifle free speech and legitimate questions during that period," he began.

Kennedy acknowledged that Gavi has succeeded at making vaccines affordable, but said it continues to cut corners with vaccine safety. He also accuses the organization of making "questionable recommendations encouraging pregnant women to receive COVID-19 vaccines."

"In its zeal to promote universal vaccination, it has neglected the key issue of vaccine safety. When vaccine safety issues have come before Gavi, Gavi has treated them not as a patient health problem but as a public relations problem," he said.

One of the most alarming parts of Kennedy's address came when he brought up Gavi's continued global promotion of the whole-cell diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis (DTP) vaccine that Gavi has continued to push in developing nations. Kenney noted that there is "compelling peer-reviewed research by eminent scientists associating it with very high increases in all-cause mortality in children," citing a study which found that baby girls who received the DTP vaccine were ten times more likely to die from all causes within the first six months of life compared to those who didn't receive the vaccine.

"Gavi has nonetheless promoted the DTP vaccine heavily in developing countries," Kennedy said. "When the science was inconvenient, Gavi ignored the science," he said.

Kennedy then called out the organization directly: "I call on Gavi today to re-earn the public trust and to justify the $8 billion that America has provided in funding since 2001. And I'll tell you how to start taking vaccine safety seriously: Consider the best science available, even when the science contradicts established paradigms. Until that happens, the United States won't contribute more to Gavi," he stated.

This move is far from isolated. It adds to a pattern of sweeping reforms by the Trump administration aimed at rooting out what is described as systemic failures and conflicts of interest that fuel a lack of trust within the vaccine establishment.

Just last month, the administration cancelled over $760 million in funding for Moderna's mRNA-based avian flu vaccine program, citing concerns over efficacy and the need for better alternatives. And, in a stunning shake-up, Secretary Kennedy ousted all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory board, stating that the American people deserve to know "that unbiased science—evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest—guides the recommendations of our health agencies."

But not everyone is applauding the decision. Bill Gates, the tech mogul turned vaccine evangelist whose foundation has bankrolled Gavi from the beginning, is ringing alarm bells. In a Gates Notes blog post, he claimed: "There's never been a point in the past 25 years when more lives hung in the balance. In all likelihood, 2025 will be the first year since the turn of the century when the number of children dying will go up instead of down."

Gates and the European Union responded to the funding gap with a major fundraising push. This week, they co-hosted the "Global Summit: Health & Prosperity through Immunization" in Brussels, trying to save the alliance from financial freefall. Gavi's CEO, Sania Nishtar, claims that the U.S. cut alone could result in an additional 1.2 million deaths over the next five years.

Despite those claims, the summit raised over $9 billion toward Gavi's $11.9 billion goal for its 2026–2030 budget. The Gates Foundation pledged $1.6 billion. The European Commission threw in €260 million. An additional $4.5 billion was committed from development finance institutions, and vaccine manufacturers chipped in with cost-cutting agreements expected to save another $200 million.