Ebola vaccine is ready to use, informed the medical specialist from WHO. The final trial results confirm the efficiency of the newly-created vaccine, it demonstrated a high level of protection against the deadly virus. The major trial took place in Guinea, informed The Lancet.
The Ebola vaccine rVSV-ZEBOV became the first substance to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens. The new medical treatment was studied in a trial involving 11 841 people in Guinea during 2015.
The results are amazing, says the doctors: among the 5837 people who received the vaccine, no Ebola cases were recorded 10 days or more after vaccination. That is more than a good result, in comparison, there were 23 cases 10 days or more after vaccination among those who did not receive the vaccine.
WHO about Ebola vaccine
The World health Organization (WHO) led the needed trials together with Guinea’s Ministry of Health, Medecins sans Frontieres and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Among the partners were many other international partners. The study’s lead author Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, the WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation, noted:
“While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa’s Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next Ebola outbreak hits, we will not be defenceless,”
she said.
The vaccine’s manufacturer, Merck, Sharpe & Dohme, this year received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration and PRIME status from the European Medicines Agency, enabling faster regulatory review of the vaccine once it is submitted.
