This photograph shows a vial of Ebola vaccine Ervebo in Freetown on December 5, 2024. The World Health Organization said on August 20, 2026 that Ebola-hit Democratic Republic of Congo would receive 70,000 doses of a vaccine approved for protecting against the virus, but not the strain spreading in the country.[AFP]
The World Health Organization said Thursday that the Ebola-hit Democratic Republic of Congo would receive 70,000 doses of a vaccine approved for protecting against the virus, but not the strain spreading in the country.
The doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which has proved safe and effective against the Zaire strain of Ebola virus, are being released by the International Coordination Group for Vaccine Provision for trials and limited use in the response to the deadly outbreak of the less common Bundibugyo strain of the virus, the WHO said in a statement.
The release came after a request last week from the government in the DRC, which has recorded more than 5,000 Ebola cases, including over 2,300 deaths, since the outbreak was declared three months ago, making it its deadliest on record.
The country had been informed of the "immediate" release of the doses on Monday, the WHO said.
"The allocation includes 20,000 doses for a Phase 3 clinical trial to understand the impact of the vaccine on the Bundibugyo virus, and 50,000 doses for frontline and health workers," the United Nations health agency added.
Those uses were "in line with the current recommendations of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE)", it stressed.
Declared on May 15, the DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak is thought to have already been spreading for several weeks by that point.