By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
DRC Launches Ebola Vaccination Drive After 28 Deaths
The Democratic Republic of Congo has begun administering vaccines to curb a new outbreak of Ebola that has already claimed 28 lives since late August, health authorities confirmed on Sunday.
The first batch of 400 doses was deployed to Bulape, a community in central Kasai province where the disease has spread most rapidly, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The vaccination campaign is targeting frontline health workers, relatives of confirmed cases, and others deemed most at risk.
The outbreak was first detected on August 20 when a pregnant woman tested positive for the virus. Since then, 81 confirmed cases have been reported, with a fatality rate of around 35 percent, officials said.
This marks the country’s first major Ebola flare-up in three years. The last significant outbreak, from 2018 to 2020, killed over 2,300 people, making it one of the deadliest recorded. Ebola, first identified in the DRC in 1976, spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe bleeding and organ failure.
The WHO said a further 45,000 vaccine doses are expected to arrive in the DRC in the coming days, following approval by the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision.
Health experts note that while a vaccine exists for the Zaire strain, which is driving the current outbreak, not all Ebola strains are covered.
Officials have urged communities in affected areas to cooperate fully with health workers as efforts intensify to stop the spread of the virus.
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