Democratic Republic of Congo to Receive 70,000 Ervebo Vaccine Doses for Ebola Outbreak

The World Health Organization announced on Thursday that the Democratic Republic of Congo will receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine to assist in the response to an Ebola outbreak. The allocation consists of 50,000 doses for frontline and health workers and 20,000 doses for a phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the vaccine's impact on the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. While Ervebo is approved and effective against the Zaire strain, it is not currently approved for the Bundibugyo strain that is spreading in the country. Preliminary data from animal and laboratory tests suggest it may offer some protection, and the trial seeks to verify this cross protection in humans.

The current outbreak, declared on May 15, is the 17th recorded in the DRC and the most lethal in the country's history. According to WHO data, there have been 5,105 confirmed cases and 2,420 deaths. The outbreak is concentrated in the north and east regions, where state presence is weak and health infrastructure is insufficient. Other vaccines specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain are currently in clinical trials, including candidates from Moderna and the University of Oxford, as well as a promising vaccine being developed by Hilleman Laboratories.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Tuesday that the epidemic is far from being controlled. Ebola is transmitted through contact with body fluids and causes hemorrhagic fever, having killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the last 50 years.