RFK Jr’s ‘deities of vaccine research’ raided by police in Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau’s judicial police searched the researchers’ offices on Monday and seized a batch of hepatitis B vaccines. Officials described the action as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding that batch. The raid brought a disputed newborn study under sharper scrutiny.

The police announcement said the search involved investigative procedures. It did not accuse the vaccines of being defective. Officials specifically stated that seizing the immunizations did not point to irregularities in their quality, safety, or effectiveness.

The seizure therefore concerns the investigation and handling of the vaccines, rather than a stated finding that the product is dangerous. The trial remains disputed. Guinea-Bissau’s health minister said reports that the study would proceed were “not even remotely true,” while ethics approvals had recently been posted. The police search adds uncertainty about whether, and under what conditions, the research can continue.

The proposed study is a clinical trial involving newborns in Guinea-Bissau. Its redesigned plan would deny hepatitis B vaccination to 7,000 babies during their first six weeks of life. Researchers are examining the consequences of vaccination, but the design has triggered a major ethical dispute.

The central concern is the timing of the withheld protection. Hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth is described as safe and highly effective at preventing illness. Newborns are particularly vulnerable, and about one in five adults in Guinea-Bissau has the virus. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said denying the vaccine would be unethical and could cause serious, potentially irreversible harm.

The study has received approval from Guinea-Bissau’s national ethics committee and a Danish research ethics committee. Yet Health Minister Quinhin Nantote disputed reports that it would move forward. The police seizure, WHO warnings, and disagreement within Guinea-Bissau leave the trial’s future uncertain.

The redesigned study could withhold hepatitis B vaccines from 7,000 newborns during the first six weeks after birth. That is the scale of the proposed intervention, not a confirmed number of babies already enrolled or deprived of vaccination. The trial’s design has become the focus of the ethical dispute.

The risk is especially significant because hepatitis B is common in Guinea-Bissau. About one in five adults in the country has the virus. Chronic infection can kill 15% to 25% of affected people, while also causing cancer and liver failure. Newborns are especially vulnerable to infection and its consequences.

The article states that vaccination within 24 hours of birth is safe and highly effective at preventing illness. WHO therefore described birth vaccination as an essential public health intervention. Guinea-Bissau’s health minister said the study would not move forward, despite ethics approvals, so the final number of unvaccinated newborns remains unresolved.

The main researchers are Peter Aaby, Christine Stabell Benn, and lead researcher Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer, connected to the Bandim Health Project. Guinea-Bissau’s national ethics committee at the ministry of public health approved the trial in a letter dated 14 July. A Danish research ethics committee also approved it earlier this month.

These committees assess the research proposal, but approval does not settle the political or public-health dispute. Guinea-Bissau’s transitional-government Health Minister Quinhin Nantote disputed reports that the study would proceed. Judicial police separately searched offices and seized vaccine doses while investigating the batch.

The WHO has a different role. Through its Guinea-Bissau country office and partners, it advised the health ministry about introducing hepatitis B vaccination and the study’s possible effects. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević publicly warned that withholding birth vaccination would be unethical. The article does not identify the WHO as the trial’s approving authority.

If newborns do not receive hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, they lose protection during a period when they are particularly vulnerable. The article describes birth vaccination as safe and highly effective at preventing illness. It does not state that every unvaccinated baby will become infected, but it identifies a serious preventable risk.

Hepatitis B can become chronic. Chronic infection can lead to cancer and liver failure, and the article reports that it kills 15% to 25% of people with chronic infections. The virus is also common in Guinea-Bissau, where about one in five adults has it. These facts make withholding early protection especially consequential.

WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said a study denying the vaccine would expose newborns to serious and potentially irreversible harm. The health ministry is being advised by WHO and partners as it considers introducing vaccination at birth. Whether the proposed trial proceeds remains disputed.

The Bandim Health Project was founded by anthropologist Peter Aaby in 1978. It is now co-led by his wife, epidemiologist Christine Stabell Benn. Over five decades, the organization became deeply enmeshed in Guinea-Bissau’s health and research environment and is central to the proposed hepatitis B study.

Its scientific record has drawn criticism. Aaby and Stabell Benn conducted research on diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination. They later repeated the study and found completely different results. Robert F Kennedy Jr nevertheless praised Aaby and cited the researchers’ work. Their findings have therefore remained influential despite questions about consistency.

A Stand Up for Science report also said Bandim had done little to improve Guinea-Bissau’s health and research capacities. Critics describe widespread distrust of the organization. Supporters of the project are fundraising to help introduce birth vaccination, but the current dispute has intensified questions about its influence and accountability.

Clinical research rules require careful review because participants can face harms they may not fully understand or avoid. Reviewers examine the study’s risks and possible benefits, the way consent will be obtained, and the protections offered to participants. Independent ethics committees help assess the plan without simply accepting researchers’ interests.

Newborns need especially strong safeguards because they cannot make decisions for themselves. Their parents or guardians must receive clear information and provide consent, while researchers must show that the study is necessary and that risks are minimized. In this case, the proposed design would withhold hepatitis B vaccination during the first six weeks.

The article reports that Guinea-Bissau’s national committee and a Danish committee approved the study. However, WHO said denying vaccination at birth could expose newborns to serious, potentially irreversible harm. Ethical approval therefore does not end public debate; authorities must still address safety, public-health duties, and the ministry’s position.