Kisangani, Congo Begins Vaccination Against Ebola
KISANGANI, Congo — On Thursday, Congo initiated a vaccination campaign to combat the rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak, which is now considered the most severe in history. Health officials are focusing on vaccinating frontline workers first with the Ervebo vaccine, a solution previously successful in earlier Ebola outbreaks, though it was designed for a different strain.
Health Minister Roger Kamba stated, “We’ve decided to prioritize the Ervebo vaccine for those on the front lines,” during the campaign’s launch in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province, one of six regions currently dealing with Ebola.
As of Tuesday, Congo reported 5,713 confirmed Ebola cases and 2,744 deaths, highlighting the concentrated outbreak in Ituri province, which has become the deadliest of the 17 past outbreaks recorded in the nation.
The situation is only worsening due to challenging circumstances such as insecurity, displacement of people, a health workers’ strike, and significant population movements. The World Health Organization has indicated that the outbreak remains chaotic and is likely to exceed the devastating toll of the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa, which claimed over 11,000 lives, mostly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Congo has secured over 50,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, as reported by the state news agency. Last week, the World Health Organization confirmed the approval of 70,000 doses for use in the country.
Of these doses, around 50,000 are earmarked for health and frontline workers, while the remaining 20,000 will be utilized in a clinical trial examining the vaccine’s effectiveness against the Bundibugyo virus, the strain responsible for the current outbreak, for which there are no authorized vaccines or treatments.
The vaccine is being dispensed under a compassionate-use protocol, allowing its use in serious cases even without formal approval for this specific application. Health officials noted that while Ervebo might provide some immunity against the Bundibugyo virus due to their genetic similarities, further research is underway to determine its actual effectiveness in preventing illness caused by this strain.
Placide Mbala Kingebeni, the director for research, clinical trials, and innovation at the Africa CDC, mentioned that data will be gathered throughout the vaccination drive to assess how well the Ervebo vaccine performs.
The vaccination effort will extend across 14 health zones in Tshopo, Bas-Uele, and Haut-Uele provinces. Kamba emphasized the importance of vaccinations for health workers, highlighting that this could shield them from the virus and help prevent its spread to their communities.
