What You Need to Know
Guinea-Bissau’s Foreign Minister João Bernardo Vieira announced the suspension of a controversial medical study funded by the Trump administration. The study aimed to evaluate potential side effects of the hepatitis B vaccine, including links to autism. The decision follows widespread criticism from the scientific community and health organizations, deeming the study unethical.
Africa-Press. Guinea-Bissau’s Foreign Minister João Bernardo Vieira announced that the government has decided to suspend a medical study funded by the Trump administration. The study aimed to evaluate the potential side effects of the hepatitis B vaccine, including any possible links to autism.
The decision came after widespread controversy surrounding the study within scientific circles and international health organizations, especially since only half of the newborn participants were to receive the vaccine at birth. The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the study as “unethical.”
The government had previously suspended the trial last month pending an ethical review, as critics argued that the study relied on outdated theories linking vaccines to autism, ideas promoted by health advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite contradicting scientific consensus.
In a press interview, Foreign Minister Vieira confirmed that the country has definitively made its decision, stating, “It will not happen, simply.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had approved a $1.6 million grant to fund the project after President Kennedy canceled the recommendation for early vaccination of newborns in the United States.
Data from Johns Hopkins University indicates that about 90% of infants infected with hepatitis B at birth or within their first year develop chronic infections, with 15% to 25% at risk of early death due to liver failure or cancer.
The study, conducted by researchers from the “Pandem” health project at the University of Southern Denmark, aimed to enroll 14,000 newborns to study the “unspecified side effects” of the vaccine, including skin disorders and neurodevelopmental issues like autism.
Researchers note that Guinea-Bissau currently does not provide the vaccine at birth, as vaccination begins when the child reaches six weeks, which may be too late for newborns who contracted the infection from their mothers. The government plans to implement the birth dose starting in 2028.
According to the study design, half of the children would receive the dose at birth, while the other half would receive the vaccine at six weeks. Lead researcher Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer expressed concern that the discussion surrounding the study has become political rather than scientific, fearing a decline in trust in vaccines and health research.
Despite the suspension of the trial, the Pandem team hopes to propose an alternative study in the future. The project has spent decades working in Guinea-Bissau to understand the full effects of vaccines, and President Kennedy cited its research to justify reducing U.S. funding for the GAVI Alliance, which supports vaccine provision in poor countries.
The hepatitis B vaccine has been a subject of debate regarding its safety and potential side effects, particularly concerning autism. Critics argue that some studies have perpetuated outdated theories linking vaccines to autism, despite a strong scientific consensus against such claims. The controversy has led to increased scrutiny of vaccine research and its ethical implications, especially in developing countries like Guinea-Bissau.
