Trump Admin Keeps Ties to WHO Influenza System as U.S. Funds Bird Flu Gain-of-Function and Mass Vaccine Programs
Despite claiming to have withdrawn from the international organization.
Despite claiming to have formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Trump administration has confirmed it is still in active discussions with the agency about participating in next year’s global influenza vaccine strain-selection process—at the same time the U.S. government is funding influenza bird flu gain-of-function research and a $500 million influenza vaccine initiative.
On January 22, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the United States had completed its withdrawal from the WHO, apparently ending all funding, recalling U.S. personnel, and terminating participation in WHO committees, governance bodies, and technical working groups.
During the same briefing, administration officials acknowledged that influenza remains an open channel for engagement.
Per CNN’s Thursday report:
“HHS left the door open to some continued collaboration, however. Asked if the US would participate in an upcoming WHO-led meeting to decide the composition of next year’s flu vaccines, the administration said conversations about that are still ongoing.”
The statement was made during a call with reporters following the withdrawal announcement.
This places influenza in a separate policy category—one where U.S. withdrawal exists on paper, but coordination with the same international decision system continues.
It raises questions about who is actually setting U.S. influenza policy, and why the one disease tied to global strain forecasting, pandemic modeling, and mass countermeasure production remains exempt from the break.
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WHO Exit With Influenza Carve-Out
HHS stated the U.S. has:
Terminated all WHO funding
Recalled all personnel and contractors
Ceased participation in WHO technical working groups and governance bodies
Yet the administration declined to rule out involvement in the WHO’s influenza strain-selection process, which determines the purported viral lineages used in seasonal vaccines worldwide and shapes pharmaceutical manufacturing timelines.
Domestic Influenza Programs Continue to Expand
While negotiating ongoing coordination with the WHO, the federal government is simultaneously expanding influenza and bird flu research and vaccine programs inside the United States.
In 2025, HHS launched a $500 million federal influenza vaccine initiative described as a “gold standard” program designed to accelerate strain updates, enable rapid manufacturing, and support pre-pandemic deployment.
Federal agencies including the NIH, NIAID, USDA, and the Department of Defense continue funding laboratory research on avian and human influenza viruses that deliberately alter viral properties for study, including:
receptor binding changes,
mammalian transmissibility modeling,
chimeric viral backbones,
immune escape features.
These experiments are described in peer-reviewed publications and supported through federal research grants and biodefense contracting mechanisms.
U.S. agencies are also funding H5N1 bird flu vaccine platforms using reverse-genetics systems, chimeric viral constructs, and self-amplifying RNA technologies intended for pandemic countermeasure development.
Integrated Influenza Infrastructure
The WHO coordinates global influenza surveillance and strain forecasting.
The U.S. continues negotiating technical access to that system.
Federal agencies fund laboratory modification of influenza viruses and parallel vaccine platforms.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing and preparedness planning rely on the same surveillance and strain data.
Taken together, these disclosures show that despite the publicized WHO withdrawal, the United States remains functionally embedded in the WHO-centered influenza system—where global strain selection, federally funded virus engineering, and government-backed vaccine platforms converge inside the same international pandemic planning architecture.
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