NIH: Ebola trial vaccines appear safe in initial study

Two experimental Ebola vaccines appear to be safe, based on the first stage of a clinical trial in Liberia, the National Institutes of Health announced last week. “Now we must move forward to adapt and expand the study so that ultimately we can determine whether these experimental vaccines can protect against Ebola virus disease and therefore be used in future Ebola outbreaks,” said Anthony Fauci, M.D., director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the study’s sponsor. Investigators are exploring the possibility of expanding the study to other West African countries, since Liberia has had only one new confirmed case of Ebola since Feb. 19. Pending regulatory approval, the research team also plans to launch a separate study of Ebola survivors in Liberia and the U.S. to better understand the after-effects of the disease.