A controversial US-funded study on hepatitis B vaccines for newborns in Guinea-Bissau has been cancelled after widespread criticism over its ethics, according to Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Yap Boum, a senior official at Africa CDC, confirmed the decision on Thursday, citing serious concerns about the study’s design and the withholding of proven vaccines in a country with a high burden of hepatitis B.
The $1.6m trial, overseen by the US Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of Robert F Kennedy Jr, had drawn outrage from scientists and ethicists. Critics argued it would have deprived thousands of newborns of a vaccine known to prevent life-threatening disease. Although some US officials suggested the protocol was still being revised, a senior official in Guinea-Bissau confirmed the study was halted due to ethical concerns.
Public health experts welcomed the cancellation. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia called it a “win for ethics”, while Boghuma Titanji of Emory University said the decision showed growing resistance to exploitative research practices in Africa. Guinea-Bissau will continue its existing vaccination schedule until a universal birth-dose programme is introduced in 2027.
