DR Congo rolls out Ebola vaccine for health workers as death toll rises

50,000 frontline staff to receive a jab for a different Ebola strain, with 20,000 enrolled in a one-year clinical trial.

A healthcare worker waits to receive the Ervebo vaccine at a treatment centre in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on September 19, 2026 [EPA]

Health workers in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have begun to receive a vaccine that many hope will provide a level of protection against the Ebola virus.

The vaccine rollout started on Saturday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province in the northeastern DRC. Ituri is the epicentre of the fastest-growing outbreak of Ebola in history.

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The provincial governor, Major-General Gaby Kasongo Mulumba, said health workers there “are particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response”.

The operation, backed by the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, will also target North Kivu, where cases have been rising sharply, health authorities said.

Some 50,000 health and other frontline workers will be injected with the Ervebo vaccine, which was developed for use against the more common Zaire strain.

Its effectiveness against the current Ebola strain caused by the Bundibugyo virus will be monitored in 20,000 recipients for up to one year.

Clinical trials are ongoing to find a licensed vaccine for the latest outbreak, which has no licensed vaccine or proven treatment.

“We don’t know to what degree it might be effective against the Bundibugyo strain,” Steve Ahuka, a Congolese official who is part of the health task force against the Ebola outbreak, said.

Dr Jeannot Elua said at a health facility in Bunia the vaccine was “beneficial”.

“We healthcare workers don’t really have a choice. We are going to receive it,” he told the Associated Press news agency. “Some people here had already received the previous vaccine. I received it myself, because it was mandatory.”

WHO experts have said that early data on the Ervebo vaccine, notably from animal trials, suggested it could offer some protection in the current outbreak.

The virus has killed at least 3,639 and infected some 7,541 people since May. Some 1,823 people have recovered, according to the latest figures from local authorities.

Workers at the Ceca-20 cemetery in Mongbwalu, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on July 14, 2026, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus [File: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters]

The WHO said in August that 70,000 doses of Ervebo were approved for use in the DRC.

The vaccine is being used under a compassionate-use programme, which allows a medical product to be used in a serious disease situation even though it has not been specifically approved for that particular use.

While WHO officials have cited “encouraging signs” that transmission may be slowing, MSF warned on Friday that there is no clear evidence the epidemic is coming under control.

50,000 名一线工作人员将接种针对不同埃博拉病毒株的疫苗，其中 20,000 人将参加为期一年的临床试验。

2026年9月19日，在刚果民主共和国伊图里省布尼亚的一个治疗中心，一名医护人员正在等待接种Ervebo疫苗。[EPA]

刚果民主共和国（DRC）部分地区的医务人员已经开始接种疫苗，许多人希望这种疫苗能够提供一定程度的保护，抵御埃博拉病毒。

疫苗接种工作于周六在刚果民主共和国东北部伊图里省首府布尼亚启动。伊图里省是历史上蔓延速度最快的埃博拉疫情的中心。

刚果民主共和国有史以来最严重的埃博拉疫情，病例超过7000例（共3条记录，此为第1条）

埃博拉疫情蔓延至刚果民主共和国第七个省份（共3个省份中的第2个），政府坚称病例正在下降

世界卫生组织总干事警告称，刚果民主共和国的埃博拉疫情远未结束（名单3/3）。

省长加比·卡松戈·穆伦巴少将表示，当地的医务人员“特别容易受到感染，并深度参与到应对工作中”。

卫生部门表示，这项由世界卫生组织和无国界医生组织（法语缩写为MSF）支持的行动还将针对北基伍省，那里的病例一直在急剧上升。

约有 5 万名医护人员和其他一线工作人员将接种 Ervebo 疫苗，该疫苗是为对抗更常见的扎伊尔毒株而开发的。

将在 20,000 名受试者身上监测其对目前由邦迪布焦病毒引起的埃博拉病毒株的有效性，监测时间长达一年。

目前正在进行临床试验，以寻找针对最新疫情的获批疫苗，因为该疫情尚无获批疫苗或已证实有效的治疗方法。

“我们不知道它对邦迪布焦毒株的疗效如何，”刚果官员史蒂夫·阿胡卡说道，他是抗击埃博拉疫情卫生工作组的成员。

让诺·埃卢阿医生在布尼亚的一家医疗机构表示，疫苗“有益”。

“我们医护人员别无选择，必须接种疫苗，”他告诉美联社。“这里有些人之前已经接种过疫苗了。我自己也接种了，因为这是强制性的。”

世界卫生组织专家表示，Ervebo疫苗的早期数据，特别是动物试验数据表明，它可能在当前的疫情中提供一定的保护作用。

自五月以来，该病毒已造成至少3639人死亡，约7541人感染。根据地方当局的最新数据，约有1823人已康复。

2026年7月14日，在刚果民主共和国伊图里省蒙布瓦卢的Ceca-20公墓，工作人员正在加紧努力控制由邦迪布焦病毒引起的埃博拉疫情。[图片：Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/路透社]

世界卫生组织在 8 月份表示，已批准 7 万剂 Ervebo 在刚果民主共和国使用。

该疫苗是根据同情用药计划使用的，该计划允许在严重疾病情况下使用医疗产品，即使该产品尚未被专门批准用于该特定用途。

尽管世卫组织官员表示有“令人鼓舞的迹象”表明病毒传播可能正在放缓，但无国界医生组织周五警告说，没有明确的证据表明疫情正在得到控制。