CDC's Controversial Vaccine Study in Guinea-Bissau: Back from the Dead, Facing New Fury

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly pushing to restart a controversial Hepatitis B vaccine study in Guinea-Bissau, igniting immediate condemnation from advocacy group Stand Up for Science. This move comes despite Guinea-Bissau own public health authorities suspending the trial and global outcry over its ethics, with the University of Southern Denmark having just approved a revised protocol for the study. The study, initially proposed in late 2025, has drawn fire for planning to withhold a proven, life-saving birth dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine from half of the 14,000 newborns enrolled in a nation where nearly one in five people live with chronic Hepatitis B. Critics, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), have called the design 'deeply unethical' and a violation of human rights. The controversial trial is notably linked to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), whose long-standing skepticism about vaccines has fueled concerns that the study serves his 'anti-vax beliefs' rather than genuine scientific inquiry. As the University of Southern Denmark gives its researchers, the Bandim Health Project, the green light, Stand Up for Science has vowed to stop the study again, having successfully pushed for its initial cancellation earlier this year. This latest development sets the stage for a renewed battle over scientific ethics and the sovereignty of vulnerable nations in medical research, prompting watchful eyes on whether the CDC will truly proceed against international and local opposition.