Ebola Outbreak 2014: Millions of Experimenal Vaccines Expected by 2015, WHO Says
The World Health Organization announced that by the end of next year, there will be millions of Ebola vaccines ready for delivery. Two companies are reportedly working to develop vaccines for the deadly virus, and trials will begin within the next couple of months.
On Friday, the WHO said it expects millions of vaccines to be available by the end of 2015, according to the BBC. Though it usually takes years for a vaccine to be developed, the WHO has accelerated the process in an attempt to stem the rise of infections in West Africa.
Two companies, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the Public Health Agency of Canada, are working on two separate vaccines. GSK's experimental vaccine is currently being tested in Mali, the U.K. and the U.S. The other vaccine is being tested in the U.S. only.
By December, researchers expect results and further trials can commence in Ebola-stricken nations, according to The New York Times.
"Vaccine is not the magic bullet," said Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, assistant director-general for health systems and innovation for WHO. "But when ready, they may be a good part of the effort to turn the tide of this epidemic."
The projected December trials come a month earlier than previously stated by Dr. Kieny, who briefed reporters on Thursday's meeting between government officials, the WHO and drug companies, among others, on how to address the epidemic. She added that plans continue to change in an effort to bring deliver vaccines faster to those who need it.
According to The Guardian, thousands of vaccines will become available in the first half of 2015, and trials will begin with health workers and burial teams in Liberia. Trials would then commence in the other affected nations.
Using a trial design created by the U.S., to meet FDA prerequisites, the Liberian trial will involve a placebo. Subjects will be chosen at random, and some will receive the vaccine, while others receive a vaccine against another disease.
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