Solidarity Against Tokomeza Ebola 'Äì Safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of Sudan Ebola virus vaccines in Uganda

Uganda reported its first confirmed case of Ebola in over a decade on September 20, 2022, with no known treatment or vaccine for the Sudan strain that was responsible for the outbreak. Within 79 days, the World Health Organization and the Uganda Ministry of Health designed a ring vaccination clinical trial, mobilized a trial team and had over 5,000 doses of three candidate vaccines shipped to Uganda. On January 11, 2023, Uganda declared the end of the outbreak that had affected nine districts and caused a total of 164 cases and 77 deaths. While the response to the Ebola outbreak in Uganda was relatively fast, the disease outbreak research community and global health community recognize that in order to save lives, more could be done between disease outbreaks so that at-risk countries can respond more quickly, narrowing the lead time between the declaration of an outbreak and a country'Äôs readiness to start a clinical trial. Through this project the World Health Organization will integrate research and development into the initial response to outbreaks to ensure access to life-saving medical countermeasures in Uganda and other at-risk countries (Rwanda and Tanzania). Specifically, the project will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity study of three candidate vaccines using a multistage and multiple arm randomized double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial. These candidate vaccines were recommended for clinical studies by an independent vaccine prioritization committee of experts convened by the World Health Organization in November 2022. The study is expected to last up to 24 months and enrol approximately 6,000 participants. Additionally, the project seeks to build national clinical trial capabilities to respond to future outbreaks and to strengthen local and global capabilities for clinical research on vaccines for priority diseases. The project will be led by the World Health Organization and the Uganda Ministry of Health. It is supported by the Government of Canada through a joint investment of IDRC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Public Health Agency of Canada.