Congo to receive 70,000 doses of Ervebo Ebola vaccine, which was effective in past outbreaks
WHO said in a statement that while it's not known whether Ervebo may protect against the Bundibugyo virus, "early laboratory and animal data suggest it may provide some protection."
The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine. According to the World Health Organization, this vaccine has been effective in past Ebola outbreaks. The current outbreak in Congo is its largest ever, with over 5,000 confirmed cases and 2,378 deaths reported.
The Ervebo vaccine is approved to prevent disease caused by the Ebola Zaire strain, but its effectiveness against the Bundibugyo strain, which is responsible for the current outbreak, is unknown. However, early laboratory and animal data suggest it may provide some protection, the WHO said.
Of the 70,000 doses allocated, 20,000 will be used in a late-stage trial to understand the impact of the vaccine on the Bundibugyo strain, while the remaining 50,000 doses will be used for front-line and health workers as recommended by WHO experts, according to Global News.
Brief written by urgent.news from PBS NewsHour Health, MedPage Today, Jerusalem Post, Global News, Medical Xpress — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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