DR Congo receives 70,000 Ebola vaccine doses as Bundibugyo outbreak spreads

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine from the UN’s international vaccine coordination group (ICG) to protect frontline communities against the Ebola virus disease.The Ervebo vaccine was initially developed to target the Zaire ebolavirus, which caused the 2014-2016 West African epidemic — the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.The shipment is going ahead following approval from the ICG after the Government in Kinshasa requested doses from the global Ebola vaccine stockpile last week.Shot in the darkIn a Thursday press release, the World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the allocation but stressed that it remains unknown whether the Ervebo vaccine will work against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.“Early laboratory and animal data suggest it may provide some protection,” WHO wrote. “Thus, the clinical trial is expected to provide important new evidence, which is essential for policymakers to inform future use of the Ervebo vaccine.”However, given the fast-growing nature of the Ebola Bundibugyo virus outbreak, the ICG will allocate 20,000 doses for a clinical trial in the DRC and the other 50,000 doses to health workers.This means ...