Ebola vaccine.
A major milestone for global infectious disease: a volunteer has been given the new experimental Ebola vaccine being developed by researchers at the University of Oxford. This vaccine developed using the same technology as the COVID-19 vaccine by Oxford-AstraZeneca has now entered its first human trial raising hopes of improved protection against the fatal Bundibugyo Ebola virus. But who is eligible for the vaccine and is it publicly available?
The first volunteer to be administered the experimental Ebola vaccine in Oxford is 37-year-old Ed Hunt from the UK. Talking about the motive behind his participation the young man told a leading media outlet that he volunteered because of the terrible Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In his words, "I had wanted to volunteer for the Covid vaccine trial but was unable to because of work commitments. After seeing news from DR Congo I thought I'd like to do my bit." Hunt was part of a Phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine which included 50 healthy volunteers aged 18 and 55 years to assess the vaccine's safety and its capacity to induce a protective immune response.
A team of scientists developed the vaccine in only eight weeks using the same viral vector technology that powered the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. According to Prof. Teresa Lambe who leads the Ebola vaccine team at the University of Oxford vaccine development at this rapid pace was possible because of decades of research. She said, "This latest step reflects the dedication of the general public and our volunteers in not only supporting but enabling a key response in the face of an ongoing and devastating outbreak. Their contribution is helping advance vaccine candidates into communities that need them most."
Currently the vaccine is not available for the general population and eligibility to enrol in the major trial is only open to healthy adults aged 18 to 55 years old. Additionally a team of researchers screen participants to make sure they do not have any medical conditions which could have a negative impact on the results of the study. Scientists note that if the vaccine proves safe and effective then larger trials will be followed in Uganda and eventually in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where the virus has caused repeated outbreaks.
The experimental vaccine is specifically focused on the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola which is not yet available. Although a vaccine is licensed and available for the Zaire strain of Ebola but does not work for Bundibugyo. This makes the Oxford candidate the first vaccine to go into human trials for this strain. If the vaccine becomes successful then the Serum Institute of India has already produced 600,000 doses in expectation of the same so that it can be deployed in the event of another outbreak.
Ebola is still one of the most deadly viral diseases in the world. According to health officials 3200 Ebola cases and over 1,405 deaths have been reported so far in DRC. This experimental vaccine is for the Bundibugyo strain and is still undergoing testing and not yet available to the public. Currently the study is limited to patient volunteers involved in carefully selected clinical trials but if effective it could open the door to having this treatment available in countries with the highest risk.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only so follow official medical guidance and trial criteria for further information. Experimental vaccines remain under clinical evaluation and are not publicly available.
