Ebola | Vaccine trial starts in Liberia

Health care workers inside a USAID-funded Ebola clinic with their Ebola virus protective gear in Monrovia

A large-scale human trial of two potential Ebola vaccines got under way in Liberia’s capital yesterday, part of a global effort to prevent a repeat of the epidemic that has now claimed nearly 9,000 lives in West Africa.
The trials in Liberia are taking place after smaller studies determined that the vaccines were safe for human use. By comparing them now with a placebo shot, scientists hope to learn whether they can prevent people from contracting the ghastly virus that has killed some 60 percent of those hospitalized with the disease.
Yet despite the trials’ promise, authorities still must combat fear and suspicion that people could become infected by taking part. Each vaccine uses a different virus to carry non-infectious Ebola genetic material into the body and spark an immune response.
On Sunday in one densely populated neighborhood of Monrovia, musicians sang songs explaining the purpose and intent of the trial in a bid to dispel fears.
B. Emmanuel Lansana, 43, a physician’s assistant, was the first to receive doses yesterday. Two shots were administered at different points on his right arm. His wife had expressed apprehension about the vaccine trial, but Lansana said he still wanted to take part.
“From the counseling, all of the reservations I have were explained, my doubts were cleared,” he said in a room where he was being observed for 30 minutes afterward.
Up to 600 volunteers are taking part in the first phase, and trial organizers have said eventually as many as 27,000 people could take part.
“We are targeting about 12 persons for today and hopefully the number will increase as we go alone,” Wissedi Sio Njoh, director of operations with the vaccination campaign, told The Associated Press.
The World Health Organization says the Ebola epidemic has infected more than 22,000 people and claimed more than 8,800 lives over the past year. Without a vaccine, officials have fought the outbreak with old-fashioned public health measures, including isolating the sick, tracking and quarantining those who had contact with them, and setting up teams to safely bury bodies. Jonathan Paye-Layleh, Monrovia, AP