Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization Will Purchase Millions of Ebola Vaccine

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) plans to purchase millions of Ebola vaccine doses as soon as the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a safe and effective vaccine against the virus. GAVI helps make vaccines available to developing countries.

GAVI said it planned to spend up to 300 million dollars to procure the vaccines, which would be used to immunize at-risk populations in affected countries; and 90 million dollars to support countries to introduce the vaccines, rebuild their devastated health systems and help restore immunization services for all vaccines in Ebola-affected countries.

Currently there is no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola. The WHO has endorsed rushing potential ones through trials in a bid to stem the Ebola epidemic. VSV-ZEBOV manufactured by the Public Health Agency of Canada and licensed by US firm NewLink Genetics, and ChAd3 made by Britain's GlaxoSmithKline are undergoing clinical trials in a number of countries.

Source: Medindia