20,000 Health Workers to Receive Trial Ebola Vaccine in Eastern DRC
At least 20,000 frontline health workers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo will receive the Ervebo Ebola vaccine as part of a clinical study examining whether it can protect against the virus driving the country’s latest outbreak.
The study, launched on September 19 in Bunia, Ituri province, will cover health workers in Ituri and North Kivu over about nine to 12 months. It is being conducted by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and its research arm, Epicentre, alongside the Congolese Ministry of Health.
Ervebo is licensed against the Zaire strain of Ebola but has not been approved for the Bundibugyo virus, which is responsible for the current outbreak. There is currently no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain.
The World Health Organization has allocated 70,000 Ervebo doses to the DRC, with 50,000 intended for frontline and health workers and 20,000 reserved for a Phase 3 clinical trial. Early laboratory and animal studies suggest the vaccine could provide some protection against Bundibugyo, but its effectiveness in humans remains uncertain.
The vaccination campaign comes as the outbreak continues to spread, with health workers facing particularly high exposure risks. The DRC had recorded 7,541 confirmed cases and 3,639 deaths by September 19, according to government figures cited by the Associated Press.
Researchers say the study is intended not only to protect those responding to the outbreak but also to generate evidence that could guide future use of the vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain.
