The U.S.-Funded Plan To Kill Infants In Africa By Withholding Vaccines Has Been Thwarted

Key Points:

• A hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau, funded by a $1.6 million CDC grant and designed by Danish researchers linked to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was halted after police seized vaccine doses and the transitional government cancelled the study due to ethical concerns.
• The trial aimed to withhold hepatitis B vaccines from 7,000 newborns for six weeks to study "non-specific effects," risking severe health consequences in a country with a high hepatitis B burden, where early vaccination is critical to prevent chronic infection and fatal liver disease.
• Critics highlighted numerous ethical violations, including failure to screen mothers for hepatitis B initially, the use of unapproved vaccines, and the exploitation of vulnerable populations in Guinea-Bissau, with parallels drawn to historical unethical studies like Tuskegee.
• Despite international condemnation and the Africa CDC and WHO calling the study unethical, the trial briefly resumed with protocol changes before being stopped again; the case underscores RFK Jr.'s ongoing anti-vaccine agenda and efforts to delay newborn hepatitis B vaccination in the U.S.
• Guinea-Bissau's resource constraints delay universal hepatitis B vaccination rollout, and the CDC's funding of the controversial trial diverted resources that could have supported widespread immunization to prevent disease and death.