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WHO Slams US-Funded Hepatitis B Trial as Unethical

2/15/2026

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Story summary
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) criticized a US-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau as unethical for withholding a vaccine.
  • Danish researchers led the trial, randomizing about 14,000 newborns to birth or six weeks.
  • The hepatitis B vaccine has prevented mother-to-child transmission in 70–95% of cases for over 30 years.
  • Public outrage prompted the Guinea-Bissau government to suspend the trial, and the WHO plans birth-dose introduction by 2028.