Geneva Hospital Temporarily Suspends Ebola Vaccine Trial After Some Participants Experience Joint Pain

Financial Times: Merck’s Ebola vaccine trial suspended
“The race to stem the spread of Ebola suffered a setback on Thursday when researchers suspended a clinical trial of a new vaccine, and U.S. officials said an American nurse with exposure to the disease would be admitted to a special treatment facility…” (Crow, 12/11).

New York Times: Hospital Pauses Test of an Ebola Vaccine Licensed to Merck
“A test of an experimental Ebola vaccine recently licensed to Merck has been temporarily paused after some vaccinated volunteers experienced pain in their joints, a medical center in Geneva announced on Thursday…” (Pollack, 12/11).

NPR: Unexpected Joint Pain Seen In Test Of Experimental Ebola Vaccine
“…The hospital has already given the vaccine to 59 people, and was about to inject another 15. But researchers there decided to hold off on those next 15 people for a week or so, while they pause to take a closer look at the people who experienced mild pain in their hands and feet. All told, the Geneva hospital plans to inoculate 115 volunteers…” (Harris, 12/11).

Wall Street Journal: GAVI to buy $300M in Ebola Vaccines, While a Merck Trial is Suspended
“…A Merck spokeswoman sent us a note saying ‘these events have not been reported at any of the other clinical sites. It is not known at this time whether these events are related to the vaccine or not. We understand the level of vaccine being administered in the trial, which is being conducted at a number of other sites, will proceed using lower doses of the vaccine’…” (Silverman, 12/11).

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