Guinea-Bissau stops controversial US-funded vaccine trial on newborns

The government of Guinea-Bissau has suspended a U.S.-funded study investigating the effects of administering the hepatitis B vaccine to newborns after international criticism over its ethics. The controversial project, led by Danish researcher Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer, was set to receive $1.6 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with $1.6 million from private donors.

The decision to halt the study came after the necessary government approval was not granted. Vaccine experts, including Paul Offit from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, criticized the study, arguing that it was scientifically unfounded and unethical to withhold an established vaccine from some newborns. The researchers initially aimed to explore whether combining the hepatitis B vaccine with the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine could enhance the overall impact of childhood vaccination.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.