DR Congo begins Ebola vaccinations as deadliest outbreak on record spreads

The Democratic Republic of Congo has begun vaccinating people against Ebola as authorities race to contain the country's deadliest outbreak of the disease on record.

The campaign was launched Thursday in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province, with healthcare workers and others on the front lines among the first to receive the vaccine.

Dr. Samuel-Roger Kamba, Health Minister, Democratic Republic of Congo:

“In collaboration with all our technical and financial partners, and after consulting with our leading scientists, we have decided to use the tried-and-true Ervebo vaccine to first protect those on the front lines - our healthcare providers. But also to then move on to people who have had significant contact with patients so that we can protect them as well, and finally, if all of this is formally confirmed, we are going to expand the vaccine rollout to include all at-risk individuals. To date, we have received more than 50,000 doses of vaccine, so we are going to begin this vaccination effort.”

The outbreak has spread across six provinces, including Tshopo, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Bas-Uele.

Government figures show more than 5,700 confirmed cases and 2,700 deaths, with a fatality rate of about 48% among confirmed cases.

The response is being complicated by insecurity, population displacement, heavy movement of people and a strike by health workers.

The World Health Organization has warned the outbreak remains out of control and could surpass the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people.

More than 50,000 doses of Ervebo have arrived in Congo, with additional doses allocated for a clinical trial.

But there is a major challenge: the current outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo Ebola, while Ervebo is approved against the Zaire strain. There is no approved vaccine specifically for Bundibugyo Ebola.

Authorities are therefore using Ervebo under a compassionate-use programme while researchers gather data on whether it can protect against the current strain.

The initial vaccination campaign is expected to cover 14 health zones, prioritising frontline workers and people exposed to infected patients.