Guinea-Bissau Police Raid Offices of RFK Jr. Allies Over Vaccine Trial
Police seized hepatitis B vaccines amid dispute over a planned newborn trial.
Key facts
- Police in Guinea‑Bissau raided the Bandim Health Project offices on 20 October 2026.
- The raid seized a batch of hepatitis B vaccines intended for a newborn trial.
- According to the Bandim Health Project, the trial would have denied hepatitis B vaccines to 7,000 newborns in the first six weeks of life.
- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in December that it had awarded the researchers an unsolicited $1.6 million grant to run the trial.
- Guinea‑Bissau health minister Quinhin Nantote said the trial had not been authorized by the government.
Police in Guinea‑Bissau raided the Bandim Health Project offices on 20 October 2026. The raid seized a batch of hepatitis B vaccines intended for a newborn trial. Judicial police described the operation as an investigative procedure aimed at clarifying the circumstances related to the vaccine batch.
The trial, led by Danish researchers Peter Aaby and Christine Stabell Benn, would have denied hepatitis B vaccines to 7,000 newborns in the first six weeks of life. International health experts criticized the study design. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević called the trial “unethical” and said it exposed newborns to serious harm.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in December that it had awarded the researchers an unsolicited $1.6 million grant to run the trial. The grant was matched by the Pershing Square Foundation and the Bluebell Foundation, bringing total funding to $3.2 million. The researchers have been under investigation by Danish authorities for alleged scientific misconduct.
Quinhin Nantote, Guinea‑Bissau’s health minister, confirmed that the government had not signed off on the trial. He said in a press conference that the trial was not moving forward. The government has opened an investigation into the researchers’ work.
Context
The Bandim Health Project, founded by Peter Aaby, has been involved in vaccine research for decades. The planned trial would have studied hepatitis B vaccination in newborns, a population at high risk for the virus. Funding from the US CDC and private foundations raised concerns about the trial’s design.
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