Goma (DR Congo) (AFP)
The use of a second vaccine against Ebola virus is planned "no later than mid-November", simultaneously in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, said Friday the Congolese health authorities.
"The 500,000 doses of Ad26-ZEBOV-GP, a vaccine against the Ebola virus disease manufactured by the Belgian subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson are expected in the DRC by Monday," said Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the chief of the experts in charge of the fight against Ebola in the DRC
"We will use this second vaccine between November 10 and 15, 2019. By mid-November at the latest, the operation will be launched simultaneously in the DRC and Rwanda," he added, adding that on the Congolese side, "the vaccinations will take place in Goma (North Kivu, East) ".
"We were in consultation with our Rwandan colleagues yesterday (Thursday), they are not ready for this operation, we are using this time to continue training our agents," he added.
Initially, the introduction of the second vaccine was planned for early November.
Two "at risk" communes of Goma, Majingo and Kahembe, inhabited mainly by people from Beni, one of the epicentres of the epidemic, were chosen for the introductory phase of the second vaccine which also targets small traders Congolese crossing daily in Rwanda.
Since vaccination began on August 8, 2018, 245,520 people have been vaccinated with the only vaccine used, the rVSV-ZEBOV-GF, manufactured by the American Merck Sharpe and Dohme, according to the Ministry of Health's newsletter on evolution of the epidemic dated Thursday.
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 took over the Ebola control in the DRC on July 20.
© 2019 AFP