Hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau receives approval to proceed

The short version

• Officials in Guinea-Bissau and an ethics panel at the University of Southern Denmark approved a trial enrolling 14,000 infants.[The Guardian]
• Danish researchers plan to provide the hepatitis B shot to half the infants at birth while withholding it from others for six weeks.[The Guardian]
• The project is budgeted to receive $1.6m from the CDC alongside matching private funding from the Pershing Square and Bluebell foundations.[The Guardian]
• Four members of the Danish ethics committee resigned in protest, citing major ethical concerns with the study's protocol.[The Guardian]

Key facts

• Authorities in Guinea-Bissau and a University of Southern Denmark ethics panel approved a pediatric hepatitis B vaccine study.[The Guardian]
• Under the trial design, 14,000 babies will be enrolled, with half receiving the hepatitis B vaccine at birth and half having it delayed for six weeks.[The Guardian]
• The US CDC budgeted $1.6m for the study, paired with private funding from the Pershing Square Foundation and Bluebell Foundation.[The Guardian]
• Four members of the Danish ethics board, including reviewer Stig Børsen Hansen, resigned in protest over ethical issues.[The Guardian]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-BissauThe Guardian - World