# CDC pushes ahead with condemned vaccine trial

> Health experts erupt as the CDC seeks to fund a trial that would deny hepatitis B vaccines to newborns in Guinea-Bissau, putting them at risk of lifelong infection.
- Title: CDC pushes ahead with condemned vaccine trial · Ars Technica
- Summary: Health experts erupt as the CDC seeks to fund a trial that would deny hepatitis B vaccines to newborns in Guinea-Bissau, putting them at risk of lifelong…
- Keywords: cdc, vaccine trial, hepatitis b, guinea-bissau, ethics, robert f. kennedy jr., christine stabell benn, peter aaby, university of southern denmark, world health organization, technology, science
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/10/rfk-jr-still-eager-to-fund-vaccine-trial-that-would-expose-babies-to-deadly-virus
- Published: 2026-10-09T19:27:27+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: cdc, vaccine trial, hepatitis b, guinea-bissau, ethics, robert f. kennedy jr., christine stabell benn, peter aaby, university of southern denmark, world health organization, technology, science
## CDC seeks funding for halted trial
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told its budget office in late September to set aside one point six million dollars to fund a vaccine trial suspended in January after international outcry over its…
## Trial would deny vaccines to newborns
The trial intends to enroll fourteen thousand newborns in Guinea-Bissau, half receiving a hepatitis B vaccine at birth and half receiving none, despite the vaccine being proven safe and effective after decades of global use.
## Unvaccinated newborns face serious risk
Guinea-Bissau has a high burden of hepatitis B. Newborns not vaccinated at birth risk acquiring a chronic, life-threatening infection that can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, and premature death.
## Danish researchers under investigation
The trial would be run by Christine Stabell Benn and Peter Aaby at the University of Southern Denmark.
## WHO condemns trial as unethical
The World Health Organization laid out why withholding the vaccine is unethical, stating the trial's premise rests on hypothetical safety outcomes without sufficient credible evidence to justify putting newborns at risk.

> Resource constraints cannot be used to justify withholding proven care in a research study involving people.
## Guinea-Bissau suspended the trial
In January, officials in Guinea-Bissau suspended the research, saying ethical and technical reviews were ongoing. Minister of public health Quinhin Nantote said there had been no sufficient coordination to take a final decision.

> There has been no sufficient coordination in order to take a final decision regarding the study.
## Kennedy's CDC eager to proceed
Under anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC appears eager to move forward with the trial once approved. The University of Southern Denmark recently granted approval to the revised trial design.
## Advocates vow to block the trial
Nonprofit advocacy group Stand Up for Science vowed to block the trial. CEO Colette Delawalla said in a statement: we stopped this unethical study the first time and we'll do it again.

> We stopped this unethical study the first time and we'll do it again.
## Key takeaway

The CDC is moving to fund a widely condemned vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau that would withhold proven hepatitis B vaccines from newborns, drawing international outcry over ethics and human rights.