Tweet

 

 

Basseterre, St.Kitts (August 31st , 2017):-The St.Kitts-Nevis Ministry of Health and Medical Chief, have joined Citizens  in outrage over recent reports in the International media regarding Herpes Vaccine Trials reported to have allegedly been taking place in the twin island federation. In a statement issued on Wednesday August 30^th the Chief Medical officer announced a full scale investigation into the alleged Herpes Vaccine Trials  which they declared , if the trials ever took place, was an unauthorized, unsanctioned and seemingly unknown activity . Neither the St.Kitts-Nevis Medical Board, the office of the Chief Medical Officer or the Ministry of Health were ever approached by any individual or group regarding the alleged Trials.

Citizens took to social media in expressing their outrage with the perpetrators of the alleged trials and called on the Ministry of Health and the Chief Medical Officer to fully and thoroughly investigate the matter. Many even suggested that FBI and other International investigative agencies be invited to provide assistance and support for the investigations into the unauthorized activity.

According to US Media Reports the alleged Vaccine Trials were funded by a group of businessmen including most prominently PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel. Reports also indicate that Southern Illinois University trumpeted and supported the research. Neither the US nor the St.Kitts-Nevis government’s medical boards had any oversight of the research.

Robert Califf, who served as FDA commissioner in the Obama administration until January, said he couldn’t think of a prior instance in which American researchers did not set up an IRB abroad. “There’s a tradition of having oversight of human experimentation, and it exists for good reasons,” he said. “It may be legal to be doing it without oversight, but it’s wrong.”

The St. Kitts-Nevis Medical Chief has announced that an interim Ethics Committee has been established to ensure that all research involving human participants follow international standards which protect the safety and security of persons involved. The Ethics Review Committee (IERC) will vet all medical research protocols in the Federation in keeping with international best practices. The role of the IERC is to ensure that the basic ethical principles and guidelines that govern the conduct of research involving human beings are maintained always.