The federal government had asked the group to ‘submit a detailed action plan with a timeline for the phase-out of thimerosal-containing vaccines.’
U.S. officials are declining to fund a global vaccine alliance called Gavi until it commits to halting distribution of vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative.
The federal government had asked Gavi to “submit a detailed action plan with a timeline for the phase-out of thimerosal-containing vaccines within Gavi’s vaccine investment portfolio,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told The Epoch Times in a Jan. 29 email.
“Until a plan for removal of thimerosal-containing vaccines is developed and the plan initiated, the United States will withhold future new funding and pause access to the … line of financing. Gavi has refused to develop this plan,” the spokesperson said.
“If they took this action, this would bring the poorest countries in line with the standards in the U.S., Canada, most European nations, who have long-since phased-out thimerosal-containing vaccines for children.”
Kennedy in June 2025 said the United States would not provide any money to Gavi, to which it has provided $8 billion since 2001, until the organization improved its approach to vaccine safety. He did not mention thimerosal.
About a month later, Kennedy approved guidance from vaccine advisers to direct vaccine manufacturers to stop selling influenza vaccines with thimerosal in the United States. “Injecting any amount of mercury into children when safe, mercury-free alternatives exist defies common sense and public health responsibility,” he said at the time.
U.S. officials removed thimerosal from most vaccines starting in 1999, when some studies suggested early exposure to mercury could harm children.
Gavi indicated it is not adhering to the U.S. request for a plan to remove thimerosal-containing vaccines from its portfolio, at least for now.
“We received a request from the U.S. government to remove thimerosal from our portfolio. We remain in contact on this subject,” a Gavi spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. “While we very much hope to find a pathway to welcoming the U.S. back as a donor, any decision related to Gavi’s portfolio would require a decision by Gavi’s Board and input from preceding governance committees, which will be guided by scientific consensus.”
