Ebola outbreak: Two vaccines cleared for trials in west Africa
Two potential Ebola vaccines have been approved for front-line trials in West Africa. The vaccines, developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Merck & Co, are expected to begin trails in Liberia at the end of January and Sierra Leone and Guinea in February.
The Merck vaccine were temporarily halted in December due to joint pain, a side effect later termed tolerable by the W
Having completed trials in the US and Europe, the next stage involves around 40,000 people being given the vaccine, including some healthcare workers. In a speech on 9 January, Marie-Paule Kieny, assistant director general of the WHO, was bullish, saying that the medical armory against the disease was rapidly filling up.
at this time last year I would have said the cupboard was empty, dry, but now the cupboard is clearly filling up rapidly
She said.
The first stage of the process will involve three groups of 9,000 being given the vaccines in Liberia, the worst affected country. According to data from the WHO, over 21,000 people have been infected with Ebola and 0ver 8,200 have died. Although the rate of contagion has slowed recently, the outbreak is still raging on.