Lawmakers want answers on CDC-funded hepatitis B vaccine trial in Africa

CIDRAP news story

US lawmakers have sent a letter to federal health officials demanding answers on how and why a controversial vaccine trial in West Africa received federal funding.

The letter from Democratic members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Jim O’Neill asks for all documentation regarding the decision to award a five-year, $1.6 million grant to a team of Danish researchers conducting the study, which aims to assess the overall health impact of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in Guinea-Bissau. Half of the estimated 14,000 newborns enrolled in the randomized controlled trial will not receive the birth dose of the vaccine.

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