In landmark moment, Ebola vaccine approved in Europe

The European Commission yesterday gave marketing authorization to an Ebola vaccine, paving the way for the first approved vaccine for the disease after more than two decades of research. Known as Ervebo, the vaccine was granted authorization less than a month after the European Medicines Agency recommended that it be licensed. The vaccine — which was originally licensed to NewLink Genetics but later taken over by Merck — had previously only been used in clinical trials, including during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016. A trial in Guinea toward the end of the outbreak confirmed that the vaccine was highly protective. Some 250,000 doses of Ervebo have also been administered in the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FDA is still considering the vaccine for approval in the U.S., and a decision is expected before next March.