PARIS: A volunteer was injected on Friday with the first dose of a rapidly developed vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola driving a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Oxford University said.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in the DRC and Uganda since the outbreak emerged in May, according to the World Health Organisation.
Researchers and health organisations have since been racing to get a vaccine or treatment for the relatively rare strain to the clinical trial stage where it is tested on humans.
Earlier this month, a team at Oxford University announced it was launching the first trial for its vaccine, which uses the same technology as AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine.
The first dose was administered in Oxford to a 37-year-old volunteer, named Ed Hunt, a university spokesman said.
“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.
“Reaching this milestone in such a short timeframe reflects an extraordinary collaborative effort,” he added.
The trial received funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), while the Serum Institute of India has already manufactured a stockpile of 620,000 doses.
The phase 1 trial plans to assess the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine in 50 health adults in the coming weeks. The researchers are currently recruiting more volunteers.
Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2026