DR Congo to receive 70,000 doses of Ervebo vaccine as Ebola infections surge

What the report says

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is set to receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine as its latest outbreak worsens, according to the World Health Organization, which said the supply is being drawn from the global vaccine stockpile. Al Jazeera reported that 20,000 of the doses will be used in a late-stage trial to assess whether the vaccine offers any protection against the Bundibugyo virus, the strain linked to the current outbreak.

WHO said the remaining 50,000 doses will go to frontline and health workers. The organization noted that Ervebo is licensed for some forms of Ebola disease but not for Bundibugyo, and that it is still unclear whether it can protect people against that virus. The outbreak has so far killed 2,476 people out of 5,208 confirmed cases, according to the article.

The Congolese government requested the vaccine release last week, and the Geneva-based Gavi vaccine alliance said it will help finance shipment and vaccination efforts in high-risk areas. UN officials said response teams are expanding safe care, burial, surveillance and community outreach measures. The situation matters because eastern DRC is facing what WHO has described as a global emergency, and the outbreak was declared in mid-May, though some experts believe it may have started earlier.