Ebola Update: As Travel Monitoring Order Takes Effect, Over 1,600 Swiftly Vaccinated In Guinea...

This is the first time since even prior to 1977, that people in Guinea have been robustly vaccinated for an ebola exposure. The prior outbreak (2014-16) was largely over in Guinea before the vaccine became widely available. But this time, Guinea is moving aggressively with ring vaccinations, supplied by Merck, primarily.

Also in a more aggressive fashion, the US CDC has ordered air carriers with passengers coming to the US, whose point of origin was inside DRC or Guinea, or who had long layovers in those geographies, to monitor with devices, for temperatures, and look for symptoms. This is smart. Arresting it early makes for less loss of life, later. Here's the bit on vaccinations, from NewScientist reporting yesterday:

. . .Guinea’s ministry of health and public hygiene has acted swiftly to set up three nearby vaccination sites, each with the capacity to inoculate 100 people daily – the first time an Ebola vaccine has been deployed in the country. As of March 6 28 February, 1,602 people had been vaccinated in Guinea, including 66 high-risk people who had been in contact with suspect cases. . . .

Onward -- ever onward, but this does truly represent a sea change, from "the fire last time. . . ." Science has clearly progressed -- but more to the point, the logistics/delivery infrastructure has been built out, since last time. For that -- we should all be thankful. Smiling, as a brightening weekend approaches. . . .

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