CDC Reportedly Set Aside $1.6 Million for Controversial Hepatitis B Vaccine Trial in Guinea-Bissau

Health experts are expressing outrage over reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remains prepared to fund a widely criticized hepatitis B vaccine trial involving newborns in Guinea-Bissau.

Critics say the study could expose infants to a heightened risk of hepatitis B infection. Chronic infection can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and premature death.

Trial Was Halted After Ethics Concerns

The trial was halted in January after details of the study became public and triggered international backlash. Although the research remains on hold, staff in the CDC director’s office reportedly instructed the agency’s budget office in late September to reserve $1.6 million for the project, according to Rolling Stone.

The proposed funding would come from the CDC’s Global Health Security Program. Critics argue that the money could otherwise support urgent public health efforts, including the Ebola response currently underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, did not respond to requests for comment from Ars Technica.

Danish Researchers Face Separate Scrutiny

If it proceeds, the trial would be funded by the United States but conducted by Danish researchers who have separately faced allegations of wrongdoing.

In December, the CDC announced a $1.6 million unsolicited grant to a research group at the University of Southern Denmark led by Christine Stavel Benn and Peter Irby. The researchers have published numerous studies that have been promoted by anti-vaccine advocates.

Researchers have raised concerns about the group’s work, as reported by Science. Benn and Irby are also under investigation by Danish authorities over allegations related to previous vaccine research, including claims of data falsification and scientific misconduct, according to Weekendavisen.

Guinea-Bissau Cites Ethical and Technical Reviews

Guinea-Bissau authorities announced in January that they had halted the study while ethical and technical reviews of the research protocol continued.

Guinea-Bissau’s Minister of Public Health, Quinhin Nantote, said there was not enough coordination to make a final decision about the study. The government subsequently announced that the event had been canceled.