It will come as no surprise to regular readers here that Merck is leading that charge. But we may still be a year or more away from formal approval, at WHO -- and therefore, in Africa, generally. In the mean time, Merck has been supplying the vaccine, in quantity, for ring arrest procedures. Here is the latest article, but do read it all. [Kudos to Kenilworth.]
. . . . The Ebola outbreak that struck Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in 2014 prompted the search, on an exceptionally accelerated schedule, for a vaccine to prevent the disease.
Although there has been more than one promising candidate, the [Merck-acquired] vesicular stomatitis virus-ebola virus (VSV-EBOV) vaccine was selected based on an algorithm produced by the WHO Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee on Ebola Experimental Interventions for the critical Phase III trial in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The committee considered various parameters, including efficacy in non-human primates the ability to provoke an immune response in humans in the early days after vaccination, and availability.
In this article, 3 experts from WHO, the Sierra Leone Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) comment on the future of the VSV-EBOV vaccine. . . .
As I say do go read it all. Onward, with a smile. . .
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