A global Ebola vaccine stockpile to ensure outbreak response has been established. The effort was led by the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision, which includes the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), with financial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The injectable single-dose Ebola vaccine (rVSV∆G-ZEBOV-GP, live) is manufactured by Merck, Sharp & Dohme (MSD) Corp and developed with financial support from the from the government of the US. The European Medicines Agency licensed the Ebola vaccine in November 2019, and the vaccine is now prequalified by WHO, and licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration as well as in eight African countries.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO said, “This new stockpile is an excellent example of solidarity, science and cooperation between international organisations and the private sector to save lives.”

The stockpile is stored in Switzerland and ready to be shipped to countries for emergency response.

Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director said, “This Ebola vaccine stockpile is a remarkable achievement - one that will allow us to deliver vaccines to those who need them the most as quickly as possible.”

IFRC Secretary General, Jagan Chapagain said, “With this stockpile, it is my hope that the impact of this terrible disease will be dramatically reduced.”

Dr Natalie Roberts, Programme Manager, MSF Foundation said, “An Ebola vaccine stockpile can increase transparency in the management of existing global stocks and the timely deployment of the vaccine where it’s most needed, something MSF has called for during recent outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

An initial 6890 doses are now available for outbreak response with further quantities to be delivered into the stockpile this month and throughout 2021 and beyond.