"The U.S. government has given an ultimatum to the international group that helps provide vaccines to children in the world's poorest countries. In a statement sent to NPR, The Department of Health and Human Services said that Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance must remove the ingredient thimerosal from its vaccines or else the U.S. will "withhold future new funding." The news was first reported by Reuters on Wednesday."
"Although thimerosal has been used safely in medications and vaccines since the 1930s, it's also been the topic of a long-simmering debate that has reignited domestically in the past year. With this week's demand from HHS, the controversy is going global. And, experts say, the potential impact is substantially greater abroad than in the U.S. That's because this ingredient is critical for preventing contamination of vaccines in vials containing multiple doses that are often used in the Global South."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has demanded that Gavi remove thimerosal from its vaccines or face withheld future funding. Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative used since the 1930s to prevent contamination of multi-dose vials. An unsubstantiated theory links thimerosal to autism, and that concern has driven recent U.S. policy actions, including previous funding cuts. Gavi has delivered vaccines to roughly 1.1 billion children and helped prevent about 18 million deaths. Experts warn the removal of thimerosal could jeopardize vaccine safety and access in low-income countries where multi-dose vials are common.
Read at www.npr.org
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