RFK Jr. Plan to Test a Vaccine in West African Babies Is Blocked

New York Times - WorldCenter-LeftEN 6 min read 100% complete by Stephanie Nolen and Christina JewettJanuary 22, 2026 at 11:59 PM

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Guinea-Bissau suspended a U.S.-funded study on the hepatitis B vaccine in infants following ethical concerns from public health researchers. The CDC approved a $1.6 million grant for the study, led by Danish researchers, shortly after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questioned the universal birth-dose vaccination recommendation. The study planned to delay vaccination for half of the 14,000 infants to six weeks, deviating from the WHO's and standard practice, without screening pregnant women for the virus. Critics argued this violated ethical research standards requiring the globally accepted standard of care, vaccination at birth. The study aimed to investigate the effects of the hepatitis B vaccine in a region where one in five people live with the virus.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Denmark 30% Trump administration 35% Emily Hilliard 40% Africa 40% Department of Health and Human Services 60% United States ×270% World Health Organization 70% Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ×280% Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ×290% Guinea-Bissau ×595%

Keywords

hepatitis b vaccine 100% guinea-bissau 90% infant vaccination 80% ethical science 70% clinical trial 70% public health 60% centers for disease control and prevention 60% robert f. kennedy jr. 50% standard of care 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

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Source

New York Times - World

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.30)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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hepatitis b vaccine guinea-bissau infant vaccination ethical science clinical trial public health centers for disease control and prevention robert f. kennedy jr.standard of care

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