Inside STAT: WHO makes plans for reduced doses of Ebola vaccine if needed

A MAN RECEIVES THE EBOLA VACCINE IN GOMA IN THE DRC. (PAMELA TULIZO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

The WHO is working on contingency plans for how and when to lower the amount of Ebola vaccine being administered in the DRC, in case supplies run low. If the outbreak, which was recently declared a public health emergency of international concern, keeps up at its current pace, the half a million doses that are currently available will last long enough until the vaccine maker Merck can provide fresh stock early next year. But if the situation were to get significantly worse, supplies of the vaccine could tap out before the end of the year. STAT’s Helen Branswell has more here.