IO9You’ve probably not heard of rVSV-ZEBOV, but pretty soon, the vaccine could be a household name, given trials have shown it to be 100% effective when used as a vaccine for Ebola.
The epidemic has plagued West Africa, and for over a year and a half has been one of the biggest concerns around the world, and finally, there has been some good news in the fight against it, with a vaccine being tried and tested to great effect.
More than 7,600 people in Guinea have received the vaccine, and for those who received it immediately, no one has contracted the virus, meaning it has been 100% effective – not only that, but the side effects are relatively minimal, something that is rare for a vaccine that contains a live virus such as Ebola.
Alphanso AppletonWith the vaccine proving to be such a success, the study could now be potentially extended from Guinea to Sierra Leone and Liberia, but the World Health Organisation have claimed that caution is still needed.
They claimed:
While the vaccine up to now shows 100% efficacy in individuals, more conclusive evidence is needed on its capacity to protect populations through what is called “herd immunity”. To that end, the Guinean national regulatory authority and ethics review committee have approved continuation of the trial.
