RFK Jr. Just Took His Anti‑Vaccine Crusade Global
Defunding GAVI isn’t just bad policy—it’s the next phase of a dangerous global anti-vaccine movement.
In a video posted yesterday, RFK Jr. accused GAVI—the leading international vaccine organization—of having “ignored the science” on vaccines. As a result, he announced the United States won’t continue its financial support of GAVI—an organization the U.S. cofounded more than two decades ago and has already appropriated funding for through 2030.
The reaction online was swift, with lots of hot takes warning that pulling U.S. funding from GAVI will usher more disease into the U.S.…and they’re absolutely right.
Others pointed out more children will die worldwide—from measles, diphtheria, polio, tetanus, pertussis…diseases that GAVI has worked tirelessly to prevent. That’s also very sad and very true.
But what most people are missing from his announcement isn’t just a policy shift.
This is the next stage of RFK Jr.’s global anti-vaccine crusade—and GAVI is his latest target.
GAVI: A Global Health Powerhouse
GAVI, also known as The Vaccine Alliance, was founded in 2000 with strong U.S. leadership and support from partners like the Gates Foundation, UNICEF, and the WHO.
GAVI has helped vaccinate over 1 billion children in low- and middle-income countries.
It’s credited with saving over 17 million lives by improving access to lifesaving vaccines.
Before Gavi, there wasn’t a ‘desirable’ market for vaccine manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries. Gavi was created to address this market failure. Gavi buys vaccines in bulk—through pooled procurement—so that they are affordable to lower-income countries—especially in countries where disease outbreaks are deadliest.
Gavi now helps vaccinate HALF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN
In short: GAVI is one of the most successful public health collaborations in history.
I did a deep-dive on Gavi’s history and impact in a long X thread, available here.
RFK Jr. Isn’t Attacking Policy—He’s Attacking Vaccines
In his video announcing that the U.S. will pull its pledged funding from GAVI, RFK Jr. barely mentions GAVI’s impact. Instead, he spends most of the video attacking vaccines themselves.
Sure, he rails against GAVI promoting COVID vaccines in pregnancy. And he complains about GAVI’s social media policies. But what he repeatedly questions is vaccine safety.
This isn’t a policy critique—it’s an anti-vaccine manifesto, delivered on the world stage.
His “Evidence”? A Deeply Flawed 2017 Study
To justify his claims, RFK Jr. cites a 2017 EBioMedicine study that he says shows DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) vaccines increase mortality in girls.
That claim is just incredibly lazy.
This 2017 study was actually an observational analysis of the early 1980s in Guinea-Bissau.
It certainly wasn't that 'gold-standard' type of study RFK Jr keeps pretending like he's interested in. And it's full of confounding and biases. And more robust follow up studies (including by some of the same authors) disproved what RFK Jr selectively cited.
Here’s the takeaway from their 2022 study : “We did not find that early-DTP was associated with increased female mortality as found in a previous study”
But RFK Jr doesn't care. He cites the weak and manipulative ‘proof’ he wants, wrapping it all in the imprimatur of ‘gold-standard science’.
For more on this, see this excellent analysis by Nina Schwalbe and Brian Wahl.
And He Knows Better
On the very same day RFK Jr. made this announcement, his newly reconstituted ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) heard presentations from CDC scientists reaffirming the safety of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy.
But facts don’t matter when the goal is spectacle. And the result of that spectacle? Real, preventable harm.
I’ve Seen the Diseases He’s Dismissing
I’ve treated tetanus. I’ve seen diphtheria. These are not abstract historical diseases. They are deadly, excruciating, and entirely preventable with vaccines that cost just pennies per dose.
Thanks to this reckless decision, more children will die from illnesses the world already knows how to prevent.
And It’s Not Just “Over There”
When kids abroad don’t get vaccinated, diseases spread globally.
When the U.S. abandons global health, Americans are put at risk.
When high-profile leaders spread misinformation, trust in vaccines crumbles—everywhere.
RFK Jr.’s attack on GAVI isn’t just bad foreign policy. It’s dangerous public health sabotage.
And it’s all wrapped in a cloak of pseudoscience and patriotic bluster.
This Isn’t a Debate. It’s Global Self-Harm.
Pulling U.S. support from GAVI is more than symbolic. And it’s more than just pure stupidity.
It’s a signal to the world that science no longer matters, that public health is expendable, and that the lives of children in the Global South are bargaining chips in an American culture war.
For RFK Jr., pulling out of GAVI is just another opportunity to bring his manipulative and maniacal anti-vaccination conspiracies on a global tour. All cloaked under the false imprimatur of 'gold-standard science' and the seal of Health and Human Services.
What You Can Do:
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