Guinea-Bissau Police Seize Vaccines from Bandim Health Project

Judicial police in Guinea-Bissau raided the offices of the Bandim Health Project on Monday, seizing doses of hepatitis B vaccines. Officials stated the seizure is part of an investigation into a specific batch of vaccines, though they clarified the action does not indicate issues with the quality or safety of the medicine.

The raid follows a dispute over a clinical trial involving 7,000 newborns. The study would have denied infants hepatitis B vaccines during their first six weeks of life. The World Health Organization condemned the study as unethical, while Health Minister Quinhin Nantote denied reports that the trial would proceed.

The Bandim Health Project, co-led by Peter Aaby and Christine Stabell Benn, has received public support from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who described the researchers as the "deities of vaccine research."