Trial withholding hepatitis B vaccines from newborns approved in Guinea Bissau

A controversial research trial in Guinea-Bissau that will withhold the recommended dose of the hepatitis B vaccine from thousands of newborns received approval to proceed. According to the Guardian and the Guardian Health, Danish researchers are running the study. EIN News reported that the advocacy group Stand Up for Science has condemned attempts by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to restart the study. [1][2][3]

The trial is central to the vaccine agenda of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. According to the Guardian Health, Kennedy praised the Danish researchers at an anti-vaccine conference and highlighted US-supported research on newborn hepatitis B vaccines as an example of the Trump administration policy. [1]

Kennedy is an American politician, environmental lawyer, author, and anti-vaccine activist who became the 26th United States secretary of health and human services in 2025. He is a member of the Kennedy family, the son of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and a nephew of former President John F. Kennedy. Guinea-Bissau is a West African nation classified among the least developed states in the world. [4][6]