Mistrust
Stabell Benn and her colleagues seem insensitive on this point. In an article published Wednesday on LinkedIn, Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer, a Bandim Health researcher involved in the trial, blamed the negative reaction on “English-speaking media” who “called (the trial) dangerous because there would be a control group that followed the current vaccination schedule” in Guinea-Bissau.
Schaltz-Buchholzer’s post goes on to say that the media controversy has led to distrust of the hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau and fears that the vaccine poses a danger to newborns vaccinated in the trial, which he called the task force, writing:
In the Guinea-Bissau context, it was widely accepted that this trial was dangerous for the intervention group. For example, rumors spread on social media, with pervasive distrust, that this was actually a new vaccine to be tested by Americans. Building on English media coverage characterizing the trial as dangerous, Guinea-Bissau influencers speculated that the reason for testing the hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau was that the vaccine was dangerous and that Guinea-Bissau newborns were disposable.
In her email to Ars Technica, Stabell Benn refused to specify the reasons given by Guinea-Bissau officials to explain the dismissal of the trial or the search of their offices and the seizure of vaccine doses. Ars Technica could not immediately reach Guinea-Bissau officials for comment.
But local distrust of researchers could have played a role in the rejection and the police operation. Stabell Benn said police were instructed to investigate vaccine doses directly, saying:
In its communiqué, the Council of Ministers instructed the competent authorities to investigate the origin, acquisition, transport, storage and traceability of the vaccines intended for the proposed study. Judicial police then raided the premises of the Bandim Health Project on October 19 and sealed the refrigerator containing a batch of hepatitis B vaccines. The vaccines were intended for the proposed study. The study had not started and none of the vaccines had been administered. We cooperated with the authorities.
Stabell Benn said the trial would not take place and that Bandim had no plans to move it elsewhere. “The underlying scientific question remains important,” she said. “But any future proposals will need to arise from appropriate local context and partnership and be subject to all required scientific, ethical and governmental reviews.”
Gn Health
