US-funded Hepatitis B Vaccine Study Cancelled Amid Criticism of Ethical Concerns
A $1.6 million US-funded study on hepatitis B vaccines among newborns in Guinea-Bissau has been halted indefinitely due to critical questions surrounding its ethics, according to senior officials at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The study, led by Danish researchers, had drawn fierce criticism for withholding vaccines proven to prevent hepatitis B from being administered to 7,000 newborns when they would have "not otherwise received it." This would leave another 7,000 children without access to a vaccine that could potentially save their lives.
"This administration did not see people in Africa as valuable," said Paul Offit, an infectious diseases physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "You can't treat children like this, you can't treat people like this. We were able to stand up for them."
The cancellation comes after officials in Guinea-Bissau stated that the trial would still proceed, but with significant changes to address ethical concerns.
Critics argue that the study's design could lead to long-lasting damage and has been compared to the notorious Tuskegee experiment, where US researchers withheld treatment from African American men suffering from syphilis.
"This was a damaging study," said Boghuma Titanji, an assistant professor of medicine at Emory University. "It shows that institutions are getting stronger by pushing back on unethical studies in Africa."
Researchers had argued that some types of vaccines may bring nonspecific effects but failed to provide evidence-based content about their efficacy.
The cancellation is seen as a victory for advocacy groups who pushed for the study's halt, citing concerns over the exploitation of scarce resources and potential harm to African children.
As Guinea-Bissau prepares to implement universal vaccination for all newborns in 2027, officials say the current schedule will remain unchanged until the birth dose is implemented.
A $1.6 million US-funded study on hepatitis B vaccines among newborns in Guinea-Bissau has been halted indefinitely due to critical questions surrounding its ethics, according to senior officials at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The study, led by Danish researchers, had drawn fierce criticism for withholding vaccines proven to prevent hepatitis B from being administered to 7,000 newborns when they would have "not otherwise received it." This would leave another 7,000 children without access to a vaccine that could potentially save their lives.
"This administration did not see people in Africa as valuable," said Paul Offit, an infectious diseases physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "You can't treat children like this, you can't treat people like this. We were able to stand up for them."
The cancellation comes after officials in Guinea-Bissau stated that the trial would still proceed, but with significant changes to address ethical concerns.
Critics argue that the study's design could lead to long-lasting damage and has been compared to the notorious Tuskegee experiment, where US researchers withheld treatment from African American men suffering from syphilis.
"This was a damaging study," said Boghuma Titanji, an assistant professor of medicine at Emory University. "It shows that institutions are getting stronger by pushing back on unethical studies in Africa."
Researchers had argued that some types of vaccines may bring nonspecific effects but failed to provide evidence-based content about their efficacy.
The cancellation is seen as a victory for advocacy groups who pushed for the study's halt, citing concerns over the exploitation of scarce resources and potential harm to African children.
As Guinea-Bissau prepares to implement universal vaccination for all newborns in 2027, officials say the current schedule will remain unchanged until the birth dose is implemented.
! those ppl at US CDC wer so clueless!!! cancelling study cuz of ethical concerns? its bout time! they wer puttin lives 2 risk on 7k newborns all 4 nothin 
. researchers cant jus b so callous & think they c get away w/ it! its like Tuskegee experiment all over again 
. advocates did a great job pushin 4 change 
& now theres hope 4 universal vaccination in Guinea-Bissau 
. cant wait 2 see dat happen!!!
this is a crazy thing to happen... think about it if they're gonna cancel the study but still let 7k kids go without life-saving vaccine 
and what's with the comparison to tuskegee experiment? that was one thing, but this is a whole different level of messed up 
I'm literally shook by this news! The fact that a study on something as life-saving as hepatitis B vaccine was even considered without giving those babies proper protection is just mind-boggling 
. I mean, $1.6 million and you're still gonna be like "oh well" if some random babies don't get their vaccines on time? It's like they expected the parents to just magically know that giving vaccines to newborns was optional or something 
.
. Newsflash: it's not about being all moralistic and judgmental - it's about basic human decency and the understanding that these are tiny humans we're talking about here.
. I'm glad advocacy groups pushed for this study to be stopped, because at the end of the day, it's not up for debate - these children deserve to have access to these vaccines no matter what 
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i mean, who gets to decide what's best for us, anyway? some bunch of researchers in a lab, making rules without even knowing the context or impact on the people they're trying to help?! it's like, hello! let's work together, not tear each other apart 
? Like what even is the point of conducting a study if not to benefit society? 
I'm all for protecting people, but not at the expense of innocent lives. And what about all the resources wasted on this thing already? $1.6 million could've gone a long way in actually helping those kids 