Kinshasa (AFP)
The use of a second Ebola vaccine is planned for November in three eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to eradicate the epidemic that has caused more than 2,100 deaths. we learned Sunday from medical sources.
"It is time to use the new vaccine Ad26-ZEBOV-GP, manufactured by the Belgian subsidiary Johnson & Johnson.On October 18, the vaccine arrives in Goma (North Kivu) and vaccination will begin in early November ", told AFP, Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, who leads the response to the Ebola epidemic in the DRC.
"There are already two communes that have been chosen Majingo and Kahembe because in one of the communes there are many citizens of Beni, Butembo (North Kivu, east), ... So it is a common risk" explained Dr. Muyembe. These two agglomerations were considered epicentres of the epidemic.
"We will extend this vaccination to our small traders who often go to Rwanda to protect our neighbors," he added, adding that "if it works well, we will expand vaccination in South Kivu (east) and Ituri (northeast).
The Belgian laboratory will send a batch of 200,000 doses to neighboring Rwanda and 500,000 doses in the DRC, said the doctor who was also pleased that "the epidemic is now confined to the north in Ituri".
Since vaccination began on August 8, 2018, 237,165 people have been vaccinated. The only vaccine used is rVSV-ZEBOV-GF, manufactured by the pharmaceutical group Merck, reads in the daily bulletin published by the authorities on the evolution of the epidemic dated Saturday.
The former Congolese Minister of Health, accused of embezzlement, Dr. Oly Ilunga, had opposed the use of this second vaccine. In his letter of resignation, Dr Ilunga accused "actors who have demonstrated a manifest lack of ethics" to want to introduce this vaccine in the country, without further details.
"The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has the most science-based data," said Dr. Muyembe, who has been taking over the Ebola fight in the DRC since July 20.
© 2019 AFP