First Ebola vaccinations in December

First Ebola vaccinations in December

28/10/2014

According to Deputy WHO Director-General Marie-Paule Kieny in Geneva, the first tests with Ebola vaccines could start as early as December, contrary to announcements from a few days ago that had only announced such tests in January 2015. "It shows how things are going at full speed right now".

However, there still is „the possibility that it (the vaccine serum, editor's note) could fail“, so Kieny continues in the Guardian. She hinted to the BBC that a serum based on survivors' antibodies would be developed. „There are associations of companies that want to extract plasma in Liberia and treat it to treat infected patients.“

Two remedies are currently being tested, one in the US, UK and Mali, the other in Germany, Switzerland and Gabon.

Additional serums could enter clinical trials in early 2015. If the vaccines prove to be effective, several hundred thousand could be available in early 2015, by the end of the year would be exceeded the million mark, the pharmaceutical newspaper.

However, there are also logistical difficulties, such as the fact that vaccines need to be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius to maintain their effectiveness. The first vaccinations are planned in Liberia, the country with the most infections. It will follow Sierra Leone and Guinea, with Kieny stressed that the infrastructure for a large-scale vaccination campaign in Guinea has yet to be created. (Jp)