Health Care Workers In DRC Ebola Outbreak Continue To Face Attacks; Experimental Vaccine Shows Success
STAT: The data are clear: Ebola vaccine shows ‘very impressive’ performance in outbreak
“The experimental Ebola vaccine being used to try to contain the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is protective 97.5% of the time, according to new data released by the World Health Organization on Friday. The data — the first to be released on how the vaccine is working in the outbreak — suggest a ‘very impressive’ performance by the vaccine, said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy, who reviewed the report for STAT…” (Branswell, 4/12).
Wall Street Journal: In New Ebola Outbreak, Health Care Workers Come Under Attack
“…Ebola is on the rise in Congo’s mineral-rich borderlands, killing 803 people and infecting 1,251 over the past nine months. Stopping the spread of the disease has become a formidable challenge. Health care workers have found themselves deliberately targeted — both by militias that have ravaged the area for nearly 25 years and by locals who think they’re part of a Western plot. … Many locals don’t understand why Ebola is attracting so much attention and resources when hundreds die each year of more common illnesses such as malaria or diarrhea…” (Steers et al., 4/14).
The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.