AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from Ars Technica, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

---

Health experts are outraged that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is preparing to fund a vaccine trial widely condemned as unethical. The study would expose newborns in Guinea-Bissau to hepatitis B without vaccination, placing them at high risk of lifelong infection, liver cirrhosis, cancer, and death. Although the trial was suspended in January due to its design, CDC staff reportedly told the budget office in late September to set aside $1.6 million for it, according to a Rolling Stone report. This funding would come from global health security programs that could otherwise address outbreaks like Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The US Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment. If approved, the trial would be funded by the US but run by Danish researchers Christine Stabell Benn and Peter Aaby, who are under investigation for scientific misconduct. The study plans to enroll 14,000 newborns in Guinea-Bissau, with half receiving a vaccine and half not. Outside experts argue this violates ethical guidelines like the Declaration of Helsinki, which require trials to use the best proven intervention regardless of local standards. The World Health Organization stated that resource constraints cannot justify withholding proven care from vulnerable people.

Despite revisions asking mothers about hepatitis B infection status, concerns remain that an unvaccinated control group is fundamentally unethical. Guinea-Bissau authorities suspended the research in January while reviews were ongoing. Minister Quinhin Nantote noted there was no sufficient coordination to make a final decision. The country aims to begin universal newborn vaccination in 2028 but currently lacks resources. Professor Jakob Grauslund of the University of Southern Denmark said the relevant ethics committee has signed off, pending national authorization. Stand Up for Science vowed to block the trial, calling it a gross violation of human rights.