A controversial $1.6 million contract awarded by the Trump administration to Danish researchers is generating intense ethical debates within the global public health community. The no-bid agreement funds a five-year study examining hepatitis B vaccination effects on 14,000 newborns in Guinea-Bissau, where the disease remains prevalent.
The research team from the University of Southern Denmark, led by Christine Stabell Benn, will conduct a randomized controlled trial withholding standard hepatitis B vaccines from certain infants at birth. Participants will be monitored for mortality rates, illness patterns, and developmental outcomes, with initial cohorts tracked for five years to assess potential neurological and behavioral impacts.
Medical experts worldwide have expressed grave concerns about the study’s ethical framework. Dr. Boghuma K. Titanji, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University, condemned the research as ‘unconscionable,’ noting that established medical consensus confirms the vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing liver disease and premature death in newborns. The study’s design—withholding proven protection from Black infants in an impoverished nation—has drawn comparisons to the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study.
The award process bypassed standard CDC protocols, with Department of Health and Human Services officials reportedly instructing agency staff to approve the unsolicited proposal using special funding. Internal communications reveal CDC scientists expressing outrage over the arrangement, which skipped customary ethical reviews within the agency.
The research team maintains their study represents a unique scientific opportunity, as Guinea-Bissau currently doesn’t recommend birth-dose hepatitis B vaccination but plans to implement universal newborn immunization by 2027. However, critics note the researchers’ history of controversial findings and association with vaccine-skeptic circles, including praise from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has previously questioned vaccine safety.
Public health experts warn the study could exacerbate vaccine hesitancy in Africa and beyond while exposing vulnerable infants to preventable disease risks without scientific justification.