Debate over testing a second Ebola vaccine turns acrimonious

New details may explain why an experimental Ebola vaccine from Johnson & Johnson won’t be deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo at this time. The DRC’s health minister Dr. Oly Ilunga was open to a trial to test the vaccine, but rescinded the option without much explanation. Ilunga tells STAT’s Helen Branswell that some experts at a meeting last month were concerned that the two-dose requirement for the J&J vaccine could not be implemented smoothly in rural DRC. And instead of addressing these concerns, J&J seemed on track to run the trial as previously planned, something Ilunga says “is unacceptable.” The current outbreak has already resulted in 2,500 cases and nearly 1,670 deaths. One vaccine from Merck is being tested, but instead of complicating matters by testing a second vaccine, Ilunga said during a WHO meeting on Monday, “We have an effective weapon. ... Let’s focus on that.”