The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine as health authorities battle the country’s deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the vaccines are being released for limited emergency use and a clinical trial, even though Ervebo is approved only against the Zaire strain of Ebola and not the Bundibugyo strain currently circulating in the DRC.
Of the 70,000 doses, 20,000 will be used in a Phase 3 clinical trial to determine whether Ervebo can protect people against the Bundibugyo strain, while the remaining 50,000 doses will be administered to frontline and healthcare workers.
The outbreak was declared on May 15, with the WHO reporting more than 5,000 cases and over 2,300 deaths in the past three months.
The outbreak is spreading in areas where healthcare infrastructure is weak and armed groups remain active, complicating efforts to contain the disease and provide treatment to affected communities.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain.
However, WHO experts said early evidence, including findings from animal studies, suggests that Ervebo may provide some level of protection against the strain.
The new clinical trial will seek to determine whether the vaccine can offer similar protection in humans and help guide the response to the rapidly expanding outbreak.
