Hundreds of thousands of US taxpayer-funded vaccine doses may expire, lawmakers say
July 23, 2025
Nearly 800,000 U.S.-pledged mpox vaccine doses sit in warehouses at risk of expiry—an unfolding failure flagged by 48 congressional Democrats. Their letter to the State Department warns of moral, strategic, and public health consequences if doses are not shipped immediately. This comes amid deep foreign aid cuts under the Trump administration, which have paralyzed global humanitarian operations. Africa’s mpox crisis, especially in the DRC, Uganda, and Burundi, continues unabated. The WHO still classifies mpox as a global health emergency. Letting vaccines expire is not just wasteful—it’s an abandonment of global responsibility when urgency demands action.
A bipartisan crisis is brewing as hundreds of thousands of mpox vaccine doses pledged by the United States to African nations near expiration. In a letter sent Wednesday, 48 congressional Democrats led by Representatives Mark Pocan and Sara Jacobs sounded the alarm: nearly 800,000 doses risk being wasted unless immediate action is taken. According to the letter, 220,000 doses remain viable—but only if the State Department expedites shipment.
“This is a moral, strategic, and public health failure in the making,” the lawmakers warned.
At the heart of the issue lies more than bureaucratic inertia. Massive foreign aid cuts, championed by President Donald Trump and approved by a Republican-controlled Congress, have gutted the infrastructure needed to distribute vaccines abroad. Thousands of aid agency workers have been dismissed, and humanitarian operations have been thrown into disarray. Trump's rationale—that the U.S. pays disproportionately for global health—has left critical public health lifelines severed.
Meanwhile, the mpox outbreak in Africa rages on. Initially centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it has spread to neighboring Uganda and Burundi. Though mpox is usually mild, it can cause severe illness and death, especially among immunocompromised individuals and children. The World Health Organization reaffirmed last month that mpox remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern—the agency’s highest alert level.
This vaccine impasse is not simply about waste—it’s about equity and global stability. U.S. taxpayers funded these doses; letting them expire in warehouses while children die of preventable disease abroad undermines both fiscal responsibility and moral leadership. The Biden administration must act swiftly—not just to salvage vaccines, but to restore trust in America’s commitment to global health.
In pandemics, delayed solidarity costs lives. The shipment clock is ticking. The world is watching.