Families of Black Infants Sue U.S. Over 1960s Vaccine Trial
The families of two Black infants, who were unwittingly enrolled in a mid-1960s vaccine trial for a respiratory virus and later died, have initiated a lawsuit against the United States government. The infants, Ross Otto Hambrick and Victor Marcellus King, were administered a respiratory syncytial virus (R.S.V.) vaccine at a children’s clinic in Washington, D.C., between 1965 and 1966 without their families’ knowledge or consent. According to the lawsuit, filed on May 22, both infants died approximately a year later, with Ross passing away at 14 months and Victor at 16 months due to the disease and subsequent bacterial pneumonia.
The families are alleging wrongful death, lack of informed consent, and civil battery, seeking unspecified financial compensation. Their claim points out that tissue samples taken from the boys’ autopsies played a significant role in developing the R.S.V. vaccine currently used worldwide.
This lawsuit stems from a 2023 investigation by Undark Magazine, which revealed the infants’ names in a doctor’s official laboratory notebook along with a series of records. The families only learned about their connection to the study after being contacted by the magazine.
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the families, expressed at a news conference, “It was never about the health and safety of these babies. It was all about the ruthless pursuit of getting the vaccine to market for profit.”
The Justice Department has not provided any comments regarding the lawsuit.
R.S.V. is a major cause of infant mortality globally, particularly affecting premature infants. Though symptoms often resemble a common cold, they can escalate quickly. The development of the vaccine was notably lengthy.
In the 1960s, researchers at the National Institutes of Health under Dr. Robert Chanock initiated human trials for an R.S.V. vaccine known as Lot 100, starting in health clinics around Washington by 1965.
Victor was born in August 1966, exhibiting early walking and talking abilities, while Ross, born two months later, was noted for his chubby cheeks and abundant hair. They were part of at least 31 children enrolled in the trial, predominantly from Black, low-income families. Despite rising hospitalization rates, the children received three doses of the vaccine.
By November 1966, the children’s hospital director raised concerns about Lot 100 potentially causing severe illness in children who contracted R.S.V., as noted in the lawsuit. In December, Washington experienced a significant R.S.V. outbreak. Victor was hospitalized with respiratory issues on December 30, and that same day, Ross developed severe coughing and shortness of breath, leading to his own hospitalization.
Victor died on January 1, 1967, followed by Ross just one day later. The lawsuit claims the hospital director had decided to halt the trial on December 29, shortly before the infants’ deaths.
After their passing, tissues from their lungs were preserved and became pivotal in subsequent vaccine research. The FDA approved the first R.S.V. vaccine in 2023.
It remains uncertain whether the families had signed any release forms for the trial, although Harriet Washington, a bioethicist and author, mentions that regulatory systems existed for doctors to seek consent.
According to Washington, while the detailed protection laws for human research subjects were not in place during the 1950s and 1960s, ethical standards requiring informed consent had been established as early as the 1940s. However, she emphasizes that such guidelines were “routinely ignored” for marginalized groups.
Washington adds that if someone was a wealthy white man, they could generally expect their permission to be sought before participating in research. In stark contrast, Black children in institutional settings often lacked that same consideration.
This situation is a reminder of a troubling history of unethical research involving disenfranchised groups. Notably, Henrietta Lacks had cervical cancer in 1951 when cells were taken from her without consent. In the 1960s, a neurosurgery professor at the University of Mississippi conducted numerous surgeries on institutionalized Black children. Additionally, the Tuskegee study, which lasted over 40 years, involved the government tracking African American men with syphilis without providing treatment, only ending in 1972.
