WHO mobilizes 70,000 Ebola vaccine doses for the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Friday 21 August 2026 - 13:25

By: Azzat Manal

WHO mobilizes 70,000 Ebola vaccine doses for the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The World Health Organization (WHO) has made 70,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine available to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the country faces a major outbreak of the virus. The vaccine is approved against the Zaire strain of Ebola but has not been specifically authorized for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the current outbreak.

According to the WHO, 20,000 doses will be used as part of a phase 3 clinical trial designed to assess the vaccine’s effectiveness against the Bundibugyo strain. Another 50,000 doses have been allocated to frontline workers and healthcare professionals who are at particularly high risk of exposure.

The current outbreak has already resulted in 2,420 deaths among 5,105 confirmed cases, according to the latest figures cited by the WHO. If confirmed, the scale of the outbreak would make it the deadliest Ebola epidemic recorded in the DRC.

Congolese authorities requested access to Ervebo doses from the global vaccine stock managed by the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision after the outbreak intensified. The WHO said the first allocation of 70,000 doses was confirmed earlier this week, allowing vaccination efforts to begin targeting those most exposed to the virus.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that the risk of the outbreak spreading further remains high. He stressed that both national and international transmission could increase, highlighting the need for rapid surveillance, vaccination and infection-control measures.

The outbreak was officially declared on May 15 and is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus. It is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976.

Although the available vaccine was developed and licensed primarily against the Zaire strain, health authorities hope that the clinical trial will provide valuable evidence about its potential protection against Bundibugyo. The trial could therefore play an important role in improving the response to future outbreaks involving different Ebola strains.

The mobilization of additional vaccine doses comes as health authorities and international partners seek to contain transmission, protect medical staff and reduce the risk of the disease spreading beyond affected communities.