First Clinical Trial of an Ebola Vaccine Begins in Congo, a Ray of Hope Amid More Than 9,700 Infections
The World Health Organization has begun the first-ever clinical trial of a vaccine to tackle the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). The trial programme started on Friday, 23 October, in the country's Ituri province.
The trial began in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, with participants receiving the Ervebo vaccine. Participants there were the first to receive the vaccine in this phase.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the information in a post on social media on Friday. His post confirmed that vaccination had begun in Bunia.
The Ervebo vaccine is usually used against the Zaire Ebola virus. This time, however, it is being used to test whether it can create cross-protection against the Bundibugyo virus — the strain responsible for the current outbreak.
Known as the Tumaini trial, the programme is a single research framework. Through it, the safety, effectiveness and immune-response capacity of several vaccines can be tested together.
The trial is following the ring vaccination method. Under this method, people at high risk of infection are quickly brought under vaccination so that the chain of transmission can be broken.
Alongside people at high risk, pregnant women and children aged 12 or older will also take part in the trial. The scope of the trial is therefore not limited to adults alone.
There are plans to add two more candidate vaccines developed for the Bundibugyo strain to the trial. One is the University of Oxford's ChAdOx1 vector vaccine and the other is the mRNA vaccine of the US company Moderna.
Both vaccines were developed with funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The organisation said the two vaccines may join the trial soon.
The context is grim. DR Congo's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared in May this year. Since then, more than 9,700 infections and more than 4,600 deaths have been reported in the country.
The disease has already spread to four African countries. In view of the situation, the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, director of WHO's emergencies programme, said the aim of the trial is to gather reliable scientific data to determine whether the candidate vaccines can protect people at risk. The trial's results will decide how much these vaccines can be relied upon to control the outbreak.
