A vaccine for Ebola produced in just one year instead of the usual decade provides 100-percent protection against the disease. Preparations are already under way to make it available to healthcare workers and families wherever the virus remains at large.
“This is a very good day,” says Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI Alliance, the global organisation that has earmarked $390 million to extend availability of the VSV-ZEBOV vaccine beyond Guinea, the country where it has been successfully tested on more than 7500 people.
The epidemic is now largely under control, but there have been 28,000 cases leading to 11,000 deaths in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. But cases are still coming to light, and the virus is still at large, lurking in the body fluids of survivors for as long as six months.
Berkley says that the GAVI Alliance has already earmarked “considerable” funds that could make this roll out possible, and that discussions are under way with the governments of affected countries, the funders of the clinical trials, the manufacturer of the vaccine and the World Health Organization to decide how to move forward as fast as possible.
Although the trial isn’t yet over, the WHO could theoretically issue an Emergency Use Authorisation before it ends. This would enable the vaccine to be legally deployed where needed.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Ebola vaccine success: Race is now on to protect those at risk
