The World Health Organization (WHO) has commenced the first clinical trial of an Ebola vaccine during the active outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed on Friday that the initial participants received the Ervebo vaccine in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province and the epicenter of the epidemic.
Ervebo is licensed for the Zaire ebolavirus species; this trial will evaluate whether it provides cross-protection against the Sudan ebolavirus species (previously referred to as Bundibugyo) driving the current crisis. “This trial will help us understand whether any of the vaccine candidates designed for Sudan virus work,” Tedros stated on X. “WHO is supporting this DRC-led effort to find answers and save lives.”
The DRC declared its 17th and deadliest Ebola outbreak in May, reporting over 9,700 cases and more than 4,600 deaths. In response, the WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, its second-highest alert level. The outbreak has now spread across four countries in eastern, central, and western Africa, marking the widest geographic distribution of any Ebola epidemic on the continent to date.
Vaccines in the pipeline
The Tumaini trial operates under a unified framework designed to assess the safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity of multiple vaccine candidates simultaneously. It employs a ring vaccination strategy, targeting high-risk contacts of confirmed cases.
The protocol is set to incorporate two Sudan virus-specific candidates currently advancing through early-stage trials. One is a ChAdOx1 adenoviral vector vaccine developed by the University of Oxford; the other utilizes mRNA technology from the US-based Moderna group. Both candidates, funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), are expected to join the trial shortly, according to a CEPI statement.
Notably, the trial will enroll pregnant women and children aged 12 and older, generating critical safety and efficacy data for populations typically excluded from clinical research. WHO Emergencies Director Chikwe Ihekweazu emphasized that the trial is structured to produce the rigorous evidence required to determine if the participating vaccines can protect those at risk.
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