Guinea-Bissau police search Bandim Health Project offices, seize hepatitis B vaccine doses

Police in Guinea-Bissau searched the offices of the Bandim Health Project on Monday and seized doses of hepatitis B vaccine. The Guardian and Ars Technica both reported the search.

The project is led by Peter Aaby and Christine Stabell Benn, who are married. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committed $1.6 million to their study of hepatitis B vaccination in newborns. US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly praised the two researchers. International health authorities have criticized the planned study as unethical.

The Guardian says officials announced the search on Facebook. It does not name the body that posted it. According to the Guardian's translation from Portuguese, the post described "investigative procedures aimed at clarifying the circumstances related to the said batch of vaccines." The post said the seizure did not point to "irregularities in the quality, safety, or effectiveness of the vaccines," according to the Guardian. Ars Technica says the seized doses were intended for the newborn trial. The Guardian's account of the post does not say this.

The reports do not identify who ordered the search or its legal basis. They include no response to the search from the researchers, the CDC or HHS. Aaby, Stabell Benn and lead researcher Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer did not respond to the Guardian's questions.

According to the Guardian, the redesigned study would still withhold hepatitis B vaccine from 7,000 newborns during their first six weeks of life. The Guardian reports that about one in five adults in Guinea-Bissau have hepatitis B. It also reports that vaccination within 24 hours of birth is safe and highly effective.

According to Ars Technica, Aaby and Stabell Benn are currently under investigation by Danish authorities for alleged scientific misconduct. The reports do not describe the investigation's findings or timeline.

What is disputed

Accounts conflict on whether the trial is going ahead. According to the Guardian, Bandim recently posted an approval letter from Guinea-Bissau's national ethics committee, dated 14 July. A Danish research ethics committee approved the study earlier this month, the Guardian reports. Ars Technica says trial plans were halted in January. It also cites a Rolling Stone story claiming the CDC set aside another $1.6 million in late September to proceed. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not independently confirm that funding.

What each side says

Quinhin Nantote, health minister in Guinea-Bissau's transitional government, told the Guardian that reports of the trial moving forward were false: "This is not even remotely true." His comments appear to predate Monday's search.

The Guardian quoted WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević as saying any study withholding the vaccine is "unethical and exposes newborns to serious and potentially irreversible harm."

Kennedy has called Aaby and Stabell Benn "the deities of vaccine research."

The Guardian quoted Colette Delawalla, founder of Stand Up for Science, as saying Guinea-Bissau is "using what leverage they have" to protect its youth "from exploitation by two powerful western nations."

Analysis

The search adds a new actor to a dispute that already spans governments, ethics bodies and funders in several countries. It remains unclear whether it signals action against the trial, a routine check of a vaccine batch, or something else. The official post, as translated by the Guardian, said the seizure did not indicate problems with the vaccines. Clarity may depend on statements from Guinea-Bissau's authorities, the researchers, and US health agencies. The study's status could be resolved through formal authorization decisions, funding changes, or regulatory steps. None of the reports reviewed by Vocemundi establish which of these outcomes is likely.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.