Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has withdrawn a U.S. pledge to fund the world’s preeminent international vaccine organization, as the Trump administration takes its campaign against vaccinations global. RFK Jr. claimed without evidence the organization — known as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance — has “ignored the science” of vaccinating children. Gavi says it has helped vaccinate more than 1.1 billion children in dozens of lower-income countries, preventing nearly 19 million future deaths.

On Wednesday, scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rallied outside the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta to protest the Trump administration’s newly reconstituted vaccine advisory panel, which RFK Jr. stacked with unqualified appointees, many of them holding anti-vaccine views. This is Dr. Jodie Guest, a professor of epidemiology at Emory University.

Dr. Jodie Guest: “Science should serve the public, not politics. Public health is a right, not a luxury. And the people inside the agency must be allowed to do their work freely, transparently and without fear. The stakes have never been higher. We all know vaccines save lives. Science protects communities, and public health is worth fighting for.”

Later in the broadcast, we’ll speak with Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and author of numerous books, including Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All.