DR Congo Receives 70,000 Ebola Vaccine Doses as Deadly Outbreak Accelerates
By James A. AbiAugust 20, 20264 views 2 min read
The Democratic Republic of Congo will receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine to combat its largest and fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record, with 20,000 doses allocated for a Phase 3 clinical trial to test the vaccine's effectiveness against the rare Bundibugyo strain and 50,000 doses for frontline and health workers.
The announcement was made on Thursday by the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, following a formal request from the Congolese government last week to the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision, which manages the global Ebola vaccine stockpile and includes the WHO, UNICEF, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Médecins Sans Frontières.
A Vaccine for a Different Strain
The Ervebo vaccine was developed to target the Zaire ebolavirus, which caused the 2014-2016 West African epidemic, the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. It is not yet known whether the vaccine protects humans against the Bundibugyo virus driving the current outbreak, and no vaccine or specific treatment has been approved for this strain. However, early laboratory and animal data suggest it may provide some cross-protection. The Phase 3 trial is expected to provide crucial evidence for policymakers on the vaccine's potential wider use. The WHO has stressed that all individuals offered the vaccine must receive information on the risks, potential benefits and limitations and provide informed consent.
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A vial of the Ebola vaccine Ervebo during a previous outbreak of the disease in Sierra Leone.
An Outbreak "Not Under Control"
The current outbreak, declared by DRC authorities on 15 May, has become the largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the country and the second-largest globally. As of 19 August, the country had recorded 5,208 confirmed cases, including 2,476 deaths, with a case fatality rate of 47.5 percent. More than 160 health workers have contracted Ebola and 40 have died. The outbreak is spreading roughly three times faster than the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak, and the WHO has warned that it remains a public health emergency of international concern and is "far from under control."
Funding and Deployment
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will provide $7 million to fund the shipment to the DRC, along with another $6 million to help with vaccination efforts in high-risk areas and prepare for future immunizations. The ICG has managed the emergency stockpile of Ebola vaccine since January 2021. Between 2021 and July 2026, over 56,000 doses of Ervebo had been allocated to respond to Ebola outbreaks in the DRC, with a further 167,000 doses used in preventive campaigns across several African countries.
With reporting from WHO, Africa CDC, Anadolu Ajansı, Xinhua, UN News, Al Jazeera, CIDRAP, and CHANNELAFRICA.
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