Supply chain delays need to be addressed to accelerate the creation of a collection of vaccines against the deadly Ebola disease, researchers say.
Once fully operational, low- and lower-income countries will be able to access the stock of 500,000 free doses along with support for operating costs for the roll-out of vaccine programs , the vaccine alliance Gavi and partners announced Tuesday.
However, international organizations have warned that it could take up to three years to reach the target.
By creating a collection of 500,000 doses of the Ebola vaccine, which is available to all countries, we can help prevent loss of life and stop the Ebola outbreak in a timely manner. come. ”
Seth Berkley, Chief of Gavi
The new Ebola vaccine was used to tackle a two-year uprising in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which was announced over June last year after 300,000 people were vaccinated.
The Ervebo injectable vaccine (rVSV-ZEBOV-GP), manufactured by Merck, Sharp & Dohme (MSD) Corp., is effective against the most common Zaire strain of the virus. It was licensed by eight African countries following a rapid pre-licensing process by the World Health Organization (WHO), confirming its safety and effectiveness.
The stock collection will include permitted doses of Ervebo, which have also been agreed with European and U.S. regulators, Gavi said, as well as other potential candidate vaccines once approved.
The stock will be held in Basel, Switzerland, and managed by an international coordinating body, made up of UN agencies WHO and UNICEF, and aid agencies Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the International Alliance Red Cross and Red Cross Societies (IFRC).
At the request of a country, vaccines can be given along with ultra-cold chain packaging by the manufacturer for emergency response behavior, the WHO said.
However, MSF warned that only 6,890 doses were currently available due to “supply bottles” and said it could take up to three years to reach the 500,000 target. The WHO also said it could take two to three years.
David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “The challenge for the Ebola stockpile is to have enough vaccines ready immediately – hopefully there will be more vaccines to add to the stock in the future.”
He confirmed that the vaccine was only approved for Zaire Ebola strains and may not work effectively for other strains.
The initial delivery of doses into the stockpile is funded by a US $ 20 million grant from the United States International Development Agency (USAID).
Because Ebola outbreaks are rare and unpredictable, there is no natural market for the vaccine, the WHO explained.
Gavi said they created a “strong incentive” for vaccine manufacturers through a pre-purchase promise to receive doses once they were disallowed by the WHO.
The development of the Ebola vaccine was accelerated in the wake of the 2013-2016 epilepsy in West Africa, which left more than 11,300 dead in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Guyguy Manangama, head of Ebola response at MSF, who worked on the last Ebola uprising in the DRC, said vaccination was one of the most effective ways to fight against the Ebola pandemic and the stock collection would allow for rapid deployment in endemic areas, but said “they should not hinder efforts to develop other vaccine candidates”.
“There is a need to ensure that there is a good system in place to replenish this stock so that they do not deal with ground disturbances in times of crisis, to continue research to improve and modify the cold chain. in the context, in order to get a more stable vaccine that does not require a complex cold chain, ”he said.
COVID-19
Gavi chief executive Seth Berkley said the Ebola vaccine had “set a precedent for the rapid development and production of vaccines against COVID-19”.
Gavi also leads the COVAX program with the WHO, which aims to obtain and ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
“By creating a collection of 500,000 doses of the Ebola vaccine, which is available to all countries, we can help prevent loss of life and stop the Ebola outbreak in a timely manner. future, ”said Berkley.
Marianne Comparet, director of the International Society for Tropical Diseases was negligent, optimistic, despite the time it takes to reach full stock.
“The fact that large organizations like this have joined forces to ensure that there is an accelerated inspection, at the highest level and in-house, of the supply chain bottles,” she said.
A spokesman for MSD said the company was working closely with the WHO on the replenishment and supply of the vaccine.
“We are moving quickly to produce permitted doses of Ervebo, which will take some time. In the meantime, we have been committed to providing monitoring doses for response, ”he said.