DR Congo begins Ebola vaccine rollout for health workers in Bunia as outbreak worsens

Health workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have begun receiving Ebola vaccinations in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, as authorities try to slow a fast-growing outbreak in the country's northeast. The rollout started on Saturday and is also expected to reach North Kivu, where cases have been rising sharply. Officials say the campaign is aimed first at people most exposed to the virus, including frontline health staff.

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The vaccine being used is Ervebo, which was developed for the more common Zaire strain of Ebola. Health authorities said about 50,000 health and other frontline workers are targeted for vaccination, while 20,000 recipients will be monitored for up to one year in a clinical trial to assess how well it works against the current Bundibugyo strain. Steve Ahuka, a Congolese official on the Ebola health task force, said it is not yet known how effective the vaccine will be against that strain.

The operation is being backed by the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French initials MSF. Provincial governor Major-General Gaby Kasongo Mulumba said health workers are "particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response". At a health facility in Bunia, Dr Jeannot Elua described the vaccine as beneficial and said healthcare workers do not really have a choice because they are going to receive it.

He added that some workers had already received a previous vaccine, which he said had been mandatory. The rollout comes as the outbreak continues to deepen in a region that health officials have described as the epicentre of the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history. The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain, for which there is no licensed vaccine or proven treatment.

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That makes the vaccination campaign a significant part of the response, even though it is being used under a compassionate-use programme rather than as a fully approved intervention for this strain. The World Health Organization said in August that 70,000 doses of Ervebo had been approved for use in the DRC. Early data, including from animal trials, has suggested the vaccine may offer some protection in the current outbreak, but officials have stressed that this has not been confirmed.

The latest figures from local authorities put the death toll at at least 3,639, with some 7,541 infections and 1,823 recoveries since May. What remains unclear is how much protection Ervebo will provide against the Bundibugyo strain and how quickly the vaccination campaign can be expanded beyond the first groups of frontline workers. The one-year monitoring programme is intended to help answer that question, while clinical trials continue to look for a licensed vaccine for the outbreak.

For now, health officials are focusing on those most at risk in Bunia and North Kivu as the response continues.

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