Guinea-Bissau denies it has approved controversial vaccine trial in newborns

Guinea-Bissau’s health minister has disputed claims that the country approved a proposed hepatitis B vaccine trial involving about 14,000 newborns. The study would give half the infants a hepatitis B vaccine at birth and delay vaccination for the others until six weeks, when it is currently routine. The minister said the ethics committee had not met to review the trial and lacked the technical resources to approve it. Researchers say the committee approved the protocol in November 2025, before a military coup changed the government.