A controversial United States (US)-funded clinical trial that planned to withhold the hepatitis B vaccine from 7 000 newborn babies in Guinea-Bissau has been cancelled following severe international outrage and local state intervention.
The $1.6 million study, conducted by the Bandim Health Project and funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, aimed to deny the World Health Organisation’s recommended birth dose to half of a 14 000-baby cohort to investigate non-specific health effects. The proposed trial sparked severe ethical condemnation given that nearly 20% of the population in Guinea-Bissau lives with chronic hepatitis B.
Public health officials and global monitoring bodies condemned the study design as unethical, while Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry of Health confirmed it had not been officially informed of the trial parameters prior to implementation. On October 19, local police seized vaccine batches linked to the project, bringing operational activities to a halt.
Following the backlash, the lead academic partner, the University of Southern Denmark, confirmed that the trial was officially terminated before any infants were enrolled or exposed to risk.
–ChannelAfrica–
