organisation

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

US federal public health agency

Health & Medicine · US-backed hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns halted after government denies approval

A controversial US-backed trial that would have tested whether withholding the hepatitis B vaccine from some newborns in Guinea-Bissau could improve overall mortality has been halted after the country's health ministry denied approval and seized the researchers' vaccines. The trial, funded with $1.6 million from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and another $1.6 million from private partners, drew global backlash over ethical concerns.