03/31/2026
New publication out in JACI Global.
In this supported randomized study, our team examined how two newborn vaccines given in many parts of the world via the Essential Program on Immunization (EPI), Hepatitis B vaccine ( ) and bacille Calmette-Guérin ( ), interact when given in the first week of life. The trial was conducted with partners in The Gambia and Papua New Guinea, bringing together clinical sites and research teams across Africa, Oceania, Europe, North America, and Australia.
What we found: Our results support the immunogenicity of HBV in newborns and examine how the timing of HBV and BCG vaccination may influence early immune responses. These findings help clarify how vaccine scheduling in the first days of life can shape protection against hepatitis B, an important step towards precision vaccines for the very young.
This work reflects a global collaboration spanning institutions and field sites including:
• MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
• PNG Institute of Medical Research
• Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
• partners across Canada, Australia, the UK, Belgium, and Germany.
We are grateful to the families who participated, the clinical teams in The Gambia and Papua New Guinea, and the many collaborators in the EPIC-HIPC consortium who made this study possible.
Importantly, this work evaluates licensed vaccines already used worldwide and focuses on understanding how newborn immune responses develop, not on experimental vaccine policies.
📄 Read the article here: http://bit.ly/4c1cu4F
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Precision Vaccines Program
Joann Diray-Arce, Caitlin Syphurs, Tobias Kollmann, Ofer Levy, Peter Richmond, Anita van den Biggelaar, Beate Kampmann, Olubukola Idoko, Al Ozonoff