DR Congo Launches Ebola Vaccination Under Compassionate-Use Framework

KINSHASA, Aug 28 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday launched an Ebola vaccination campaign using the Ervebo vaccine under a compassionate-use framework in the northeastern province of Tshopo, as the country steps up efforts to contain the ongoing Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak, reported Xinhua.

DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba officially launched the vaccination campaign in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo Province, with healthcare and frontline workers among the first groups to receive the vaccine.

“We have decided to use the Ervebo vaccine to protect first those who are on the front line, therefore our health care providers, but also people who have been in contact with patients," Kamba said.

More than 50,000 doses of Ervebo have been received, Kamba said, quoted by the DRC official news agency ACP.

The health ministry said on the social media platform X that the launch was an important step in the Ebola response, adding that the vaccination would reinforce existing measures to protect communities, break chains of transmission and contain the spread of the disease.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) also confirmed at a press briefing on Thursday that preventive vaccination had begun in Kisangani.

Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Africa CDC's Director for Research, Clinical Trials and Innovation, told the briefing that the compassionate-use framework is expected to cover 14 selected health zones in Tshopo, Bas-Uele and Haut-Uele, three provinces more recently affected by the outbreak.

Data will be collected during the rollout to assess the vaccine's potential effectiveness against the virus responsible for the current outbreak, he said.

Ervebo is licensed for the prevention of Ebola disease caused by the Zaire ebolavirus, rather than the Bundibugyo ebolavirus behind the ongoing outbreak.

There is currently no approved vaccine specifically targeting the Bundibugyo ebolavirus.

Laboratory studies have suggested that Ervebo may offer some degree of cross-protection against the Bundibugyo virus, but its effectiveness in humans remains to be established, he said.

The DRC government and its partners will assess whether Ervebo can provide cross-protection against Bundibugyo virus.

Several other candidate vaccines specifically targeting the virus are also under development, Kingebeni said.

The World Health Organisation and the Africa CDC said last Thursday that the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision had approved an immediate initial release of 70,000 doses of Ervebo following a request from the DRC government.

Of the allocation, 20,000 doses will be used in a Phase 3 clinical trial to assess the vaccine's impact against Bundibugyo virus, while 50,000 doses are intended for frontline and health workers.

The vaccination rollout comes as the Ebola outbreak continues to spread across six DRC provinces, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo, Haut-Uele and Bas-Uele.

According to figures released on Thursday by the country's health authorities, the DRC had recorded 5,713 confirmed cases and 2,744 deaths as of Tuesday, with an overall case fatality rate of 48 per cent. 

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA