Police raid RFK Jr. allies’ office and seize hepatitis B vaccines. Officials say the newborn trial has not been authorized

Police in Guinea-Bissau raided the Bissau offices of the Bandim Health Project, seizing hepatitis B vaccines intended for a controversial newborn vaccine trial that the country’s government has not approved. The Danish-led research group is headed by married researchers Peter Aaby and Christine Stabell Benn.

According to Ars Technica, the proposed trial has drawn international condemnation over concerns that its design could expose thousands of newborns to hepatitis B, a virus that can cause lifelong infection, liver cirrhosis, and cancer.

In a Facebook post translated from Portuguese, the judicial police described the raid as a “search operation at the facilities of the Bandim Health Project in Bissau.” They said the operation aimed to clarify “the circumstances related to the said batch of vaccines.” The police cautioned that the seizure “does not allow, in itself, to conclude the existence of irregularities in the quality, safety, or effectiveness of the vaccines.”

Guinea-Bissau has not approved the trial

The trial cannot proceed without government approval. Health Minister Quinhin Nantote said last week that the government had not authorized it. Any research involving human beings, particularly children, must comply with national law and international ethical standards, he said, according to Reuters. Nantote also rejected reports that the study would proceed. “This is not even remotely true,” he said.

The CDC awarded the Danish researchers an unsolicited $1.6 million grant in December. The notice described it as a single-source award, meaning the funding did not go through an open competition. Kennedy’s push to fund the trial has drawn criticism, while the health secretary has repeatedly praised the researchers.

Aaby and Stabell Benn claim vaccines can cause overlooked harms that deserve greater scrutiny, a position that has drawn criticism from other researchers. That view sits comfortably with the direction Kennedy has taken the agency, where he has replaced the vaccine advisory panel with a new group of advisers as part of his broader effort to change how the government approaches vaccine policy. Danish authorities are also investigating the couple over alleged scientific misconduct, adding another layer of scrutiny to their work.

The World Health Organization has called the trial “unethical.” Plans were halted in January following widespread criticism of its design and the risks it could pose to newborns. The controversy resurfaced this month after Rolling Stone reported that the CDC had set aside another $1.6 million in late September and planned to proceed with the trial. Guinea-Bissau officials have disputed those reports. The raid raises further questions about the researchers’ work, but police have not publicly explained what prompted the investigation or whether further action is planned.