Mirian Gom 
DR CONGO – The DR Congo Ebola outbreak receives a major boost after more than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine arrive in Kinshasa, as health authorities intensify efforts to contain the country’s deadliest Ebola epidemic on record. The shipment forms part of a larger World Health Organization (WHO) plan to deliver 70,000 vaccine doses to the Democratic Republic of Congo while experts investigate whether the vaccine can protect against the Bundibugyo strain driving the outbreak.
The first batch of 16,250 doses landed at Kinshasa International Airport on Friday, a day after the WHO announced the vaccine deployment to support the country’s emergency response.
The Democratic Republic of Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15, although health officials believe transmission had already been occurring for several weeks before the declaration. The outbreak has spread across northern and eastern parts of the country, where weak state presence, poor health infrastructure and persistent armed conflict continue to hamper response efforts.
Speaking at the airport, DR Congo’s Minister of Health, Samuel Roger Kamba, says the Ervebo vaccine has proven effective during previous Ebola emergencies.
“The Ervebo vaccine has already been used several times, and in particular on a very large scale during the 2018–2020 outbreak.”
The Ervebo vaccine, developed by pharmaceutical company Merck in Germany, is approved against the Zaire strain of Ebola but has not yet been authorised for the Bundibugyo strain currently circulating in the DRC.
According to the WHO, 20,000 doses of the vaccine will be reserved for the clinical trial, while the remaining 50,000 doses will be administered to frontline responders and healthcare workers across affected areas.
The outbreak has already claimed 2,516 lives from 5,290 confirmed infections, according to the latest figures released by Congolese authorities.
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Hope Ajayi 
