Ebola: WHO begins vaccine trial targeting frontline workers in Congo

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday said 20,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine have been allocated for a research vaccination programme in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a report by Peoples Gazette.

The trial, which involves frontline health workers and other responders, is aimed at determining how effective the vaccine is against the Ebola Bundibugyo virus and protecting those most exposed to it. While Ervebo has proven “highly effective” against the Ebola Zaire virus, its ability to offer “meaningful protection” against the Bundibugyo strain — still spreading in the DRC — remains unconfirmed.

A total of 70,000 doses have been made available to Congolese authorities to support the outbreak response and related research.

The outbreak, confirmed in May, is centred in Ituri but has since spread to seven provinces, complicating response efforts already strained by decades of violence in the country’s eastern regions, including the M23 militia’s seizure of Goma and Bukavu in early 2025.

Latest data shows more than 7,600 confirmed cases and over 3,670 deaths, with nearly eight in 10 infections recorded in Ituri.