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First person gets new experimental vaccine for Bundibugyo species of Ebola
BBC • • general
Key Points:
- Ed Hunt, a 37-year-old UK man, became the first volunteer to receive an experimental Ebola vaccine developed in Oxford using the same technology as the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid jab.
- The vaccine targets the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which is currently causing an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is the first of four vaccines in development to enter human trials.
- The phase one trial aims to assess the vaccine’s safety and its ability to provoke a strong immune response, with no risk of giving volunteers Ebola.
- A second small trial is planned in Uganda, followed by a larger efficacy study in DR Congo, while 600,000 doses have already been manufactured by the Serum Institute in India for potential use.
- The vaccine was developed rapidly due to decades of prior research and builds on the technology used successfully during the Covid-19 pandemic.
