Madar (International) - The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, that it had approved clinical trials of two new Ebola vaccines as doctors fight to contain an outbreak in Africa that has killed more than 5,300 people, AFP reported via Africanews.
"Last month, a vaccine trial began using the Ervebo vaccine, which is approved for Ebola virus, but not for Bundibugyo virus," which is ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. "Today, WHO expert groups are recommending adding two vaccine candidates to the trial," he said.
The two candidates, ChAdOx1 BDBV, developed by the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna's mRNA-1469, were developed specifically for the Bundibugyo virus, Tedros explained. The DRC's National Institute for Biomedical Research is leading the trial, backed by partners including WHO.
According to the BBC, the two vaccines will join the trial once approved by Congolese health authorities, the first time jabs specifically designed against the Bundibugyo virus will be tested during an outbreak. The broadcaster added that a British man who tested positive for Ebola in the DRC will be flown back to the UK, the first confirmed case of a UK national in this outbreak, with the UK government saying the risk to the public remains "low".
"Vaccines are powerful tools, but they are not substitutes for the proven measures that can save lives now: early care, contact tracing, isolation, safe and dignified burials and trusted engagement with communities," he added.
On Monday, November 2, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said the ongoing Ebola epidemic had killed more than 5,300 people, the vast majority in the DRC, with a total of 10,444 confirmed cases and a fatality rate of more than 50 percent.
