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Oxford University Administers First Ebola Vaccine Dose for Bundibugyo Strain
Developing
In Short: Oxford University has administered the first dose of its ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine, targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, to a 37-year-old volunteer.
Oxford University has administered the first dose of its ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine, targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, to a 37-year-old volunteer named Ed Hunt in Oxford on Friday, a university spokesman told AFP.
The vaccine, which uses the same technology as AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, was developed in just eight weeks and marks a significant step in the response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
The outbreak, which has killed more than 1,270 people out of nearly 3,000 infections in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda since May, continues to outpace the response, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Given regulatory approval, the team is preparing for more clinical studies of the vaccine with partners in Uganda, and plans to expand the response to include four other DRC provinces where cases have been found.
The University of Oxford, known for its long history of teaching dating back to 1096, is at the forefront of this critical research, aiming to combat the spread of Ebola through innovative vaccine development.
Background
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world’s second-oldest university in continuous operation.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- More than 1,270 people have been killed out of nearly 3,000 infections in the DRC and Uganda since the outbreak emerged in May, according to the most recent figures from the World Health Organization.
- Earlier this month, a team at Oxford University in the UK announced it was launching the first trial for its ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine, which uses the same technology as AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine.
- The first dose was administered to a 37-year-old volunteer named Ed Hunt in Oxford on Friday, a university spokesman told AFP.
- "We've taken this vaccine candidate from concept to clinic in just eight weeks," David Pulido-Gomez of Oxford's Pandemic Sciences Institute said in a statement.
- Given regulatory approval, the team is preparing for more clinical studies of the vaccine with partners in Uganda, Oxford said.
- "The outbreak continues to outpace the response," partly because contact tracing cannot reach every remote community, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X late Thursday.
- Cases of Ebola, which spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids, have also been found in four other DRC provinces. — Agence France-Presse