WHO begins Ebola vaccine trial in DR Congo

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has initiated the first clinical trial of an Ebola vaccine during the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The trial, named Tumaini, meaning "hope" in Swahili, will assess the efficacy of vaccine candidates against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no vaccine has been approved.

The trial will evaluate the safety, immune response, and effectiveness of the vaccine candidates, including the licensed Ervebo vaccine for the Zaire strain and two additional candidates from Moderna and the University of Oxford. The trial will employ a ring vaccination approach, targeting contacts of confirmed cases and high-risk individuals.

As of October 21, the DRC had reported 9,552 cases and 4,602 deaths related to the outbreak, which was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO on May 15, 2026.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.