Five top anti-vaccine advocacy organizations that have spread medical misinformation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic received funding from the Trump administration's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), The Washington Post reported Monday.

The loans from the Small Business Administration totaled more than $850,000, according to the report.

"Lending money to these organizations so they can prosper is a sickening use of taxpayer money," Countering Digital Hate CEO Imran Ahmed told The Washington Post. "These groups are actively working to undermine the national COVID vaccination drive, which will create long-term health problems that are felt most acutely in minority communities and low-income neighborhoods."

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Mercola, a businessman and doctor of osteopathic medicine, is himself a major donor of the NVIC. The Washington Post reported in 2019 that Mercola gave the NVIC $2.9 million, making up roughly 40% of the group's funding. Mercola has millions of followers on Facebook.

The Pew Research Center said in a December report that about 39% of Americans said they would definitely not, or probably not, get the vaccine. 21% of American adults surveyed said they were "pretty certain" that new information about COVID-19 vaccination would not change their minds.

Anti-vaccine advocacy groups have played a major role in propagating that distrust, Viswanath said.

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The Trump administration gave more than $850,000 in PPP loans to prominent anti-vaccine groups - Business Insider India