WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, May 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a coalition of 150,000 African American and Latino faith communities representing 27.7 million members, along with the American Clinical Health Disparities Commission (ACHDC), is urging the Trump Administration and Secretary Kennedy to reconsider the blocking of $600 million in global vaccine funding, stating that they believe this is not the appropriate time for such action.
The launch of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance at the turn of the century has been associated with reductions in child mortality across dozens of low-income countries. Over the last two decades, Gavi reports that it has supported the immunization of approximately 1.2 billion children and helped prevent more than 20 million deaths through programs aimed at addressing disparities in vaccine access.
Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative, said, “We believe this current move by the administration is unnecessary and could negatively affect people in developing countries, especially those in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Africa. We pray and hope that reasonableness will prevail concerning this policy.”
According to vaccine experts affiliated with the ACHDC and other organizations, concerns regarding thimerosal in vaccines have been addressed in multiple epidemiological studies that did not find evidence supporting claims of neurotoxicity at the levels used in vaccines. They also state that, in many settings, thimerosal continues to play an important role in maintaining the safety and usability of multi-dose vaccine vials in areas where cold-chain reliability may be inconsistent. They argue that removing it without widely available alternatives could reduce vaccine accessibility in some regions.
Anthony Evans
National Black Church Initiative
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