PROMISING:
It is unknown whether Ervebo protects against the Bundibugyo strain, but animal trial data suggest it could offer some protection, the WHO said
More than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) late on Friday, as the country faces the deadliest Ebola outbreak in its history.The DR Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, which has killed thousands of people, was declared on May 15, but is thought to have been spreading for several weeks prior. It has hit regions in the north and east where the presence of the state is weak, health infrastructure is largely lacking and myriad armed groups have roamed for decades. The WHO on Thursday announced that DR Congo would receive a total of 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, produced in Germany.
A vial of the Ebola vaccine Ervebo is pictured in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Dec. 5, 2024.
The vaccine, developed by the pharmaceutical company Merck, is approved against the Zaire strain of the virus, but not against the Bundibugyo strain circulating in the country. WHO experts still do not know whether Ervebo protects humans against the Bundibugyo strain, but early data, notably from animal trials, suggest it could offer some protection.
