Gavi is a public-private partnership including WHO, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation and the World Bank, and it is estimated that the vaccination programs have saved 18 million lives. The United States has long been one of its biggest supporters; before President Donald Trump’s re-election, the country had pledged $1 billion through 2030.

Ahead of the first meeting of newly appointed vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lawmakers are sharing fresh concerns about the panel’s membership and last-minute actions that could see Covid-19 and influenza vaccines thrown into question.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s newly revamped vaccine advisory panel voted on Thursday to recommend Americans receive seasonal influenza shots that are free from the mercury-based preservative thimerosal despite decades of studies showing no related safety issues.