DR Congo receives Ervebo vaccine doses amid Ebola outbreak
Summary
16,250 doses of the Ervebo vaccine have arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the country battles its 17th Ebola outbreak. Health officials say the vaccine will be used for clinical trials and frontline workers, though its effectiveness against the currently spreading Bundibugyo strain is still unproven.
Key Points
- The Democratic Republic of Congo has received 16,250 doses of the Ervebo vaccine amid a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak.
- The World Health Organization says DRC will get 70,000 doses in total, with 20,000 reserved for clinical trials and 50,000 for frontline health workers.
- Ervebo is approved against the Zaire strain of Ebola, but its protection against the Bundibugyo strain now spreading in DRC has not yet been proven.
- Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said the vaccine was also used widely during the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak.
