Congo will receive 70,000 doses of the Ervibo vaccine, which was effective in previous Ebola outbreaks, the World Health Organization and its partners said on Thursday, announcing a move seen as a major boost to efforts to contain what officials described as the fastest Ebola outbreak in history.
The Ervebo vaccine is licensed for use against Ebola virus, one of the viruses that causes Ebola, but not against the Bundibugyo virus responsible for the current outbreak which has so far claimed 2,476 lives out of 5,208 confirmed cases.
Although it is not known whether Ervibo may protect against Bundibugyo virus, “early laboratory and animal data suggest that it may provide some protection,” the World Health Organization said in a statement.
The agency said that the allocation includes 20,000 doses for the third phase of the clinical trial to understand the effect of the vaccine on the Bundibugyo virus. The remaining 50,000 doses will be used for frontline workers and health workers as recommended by World Health Organization experts.
The raging outbreak in six provinces in eastern Congo has sickened and killed more people more quickly than any other Ebola outbreak in history, and is spreading nearly three times faster than the 2014-2016 outbreak across West Africa — the deadliest Ebola outbreak ever with more than 11,000 deaths.
The International Vaccine Coordination Group, which includes the World Health Organization and other partners, said the doses would be released immediately following a request from Congo’s government.
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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the approval as “an important example of global solidarity in action.” He said the agency and its partners remain committed to supporting enhanced surveillance, rapid detection, quality care, community engagement and vaccination efforts to control the outbreak.
The lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo virus was a major problem for responders. Most new cases have been reported outside of people being monitored, showing that the virus continues to spread faster than efforts to track it. This was a major contributor to recorded deaths.
The case fatality rate so far is 47.5 percent, although it is much worse in some places where response efforts are more difficult, such as in North Kivu Province where the case fatality rate is as high as 70 percent.
Experts believe the virus began spreading from the mining town of Mongbwalu as early as February, months before authorities declared the outbreak on May 15.
& Edition 2026 The Canadian Press
