Congo Begins Ebola Vaccinations to Fight Countrys Worst Outbreak on Record

Congo launched an Ebola vaccination campaign in Kisangani, capital of Tshopo province, on Thursday, Health Minister Roger Kamba said, prioritizing health workers and other frontline responders with the Ervebo vaccine 12. As of Tuesday, the country had recorded 5,713 confirmed cases and 2,744 deaths across six provinces, an overall case fatality rate of about 48 percent. The WHO says the outbreak remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people, mainly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and remains the deadliest on record 12. More than 50,000 doses have been received of 70,000 the WHO approved for use in Congo, with 50,000 designated for frontline and health workers and 20,000 reserved for a clinical trial testing the vaccine's effect against the Bundibugyo strain driving the outbreak, according to the WHO and Congo's state news agency 12. Ervebo is approved against the Zaire ebolavirus strain, not Bundibugyo, and is being deployed under a compassionate-use program pending further study of its protection against the current strain 12. The campaign is expected to cover 14 health zones in Tshopo, Bas-Uele, and Haut-Uele provinces 12.