The battle to contain Africa’s deadly Ebola outbreak is entering a new phase, with the World Health Organization clearing the way for clinical trials of two new vaccines as the epidemic’s toll climbs beyond 5,300 deaths.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a vaccine trial launched last month using the Ervebo vaccine, which is approved for Ebola virus but not for the Bundibugyo virus now ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Today, WHO expert groups are recommending adding two vaccine candidates to the trial,” he said.
The candidates are ChAdOx1 BDBV—developed by the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of India—and Moderna’s mRNA-1469, which Ghebreyesus said were designed specifically to target the Bundibugyo virus.
Ghebreyesus said the Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research is leading the trial, supported by partners including the WHO.
Even with vaccine research accelerating, he stressed that immunizations do not replace the frontline steps used to cut transmission and protect patients. “Vaccines are powerful tools, but they are not substitutes for the proven measures that can save lives now: early care, contact tracing, isolation, safe and dignified burials and trusted engagement with communities,” he said.
The update comes after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that Africa’s ongoing Ebola epidemic has killed more than 5,300 people, with the vast majority of deaths recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In total, 10,444 cases have been confirmed, the agency said, putting the fatality rate at more than 50%.
