First batch of Ebola vaccine set to arrive in Liberia

Aljazeera

The first batch of experimental Ebola vaccine from phamaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was due to arrive in Liberia on Friday, providing a boost to public health officials hopeful to stem the spread of the disease, which has killed more than 8,000 people to date.

GSK sent an initial shipment of 300 vials of vaccine ahead of the rollout of a mass clinical trial. Health care workers in the country to help care for Ebola patients are expected to be among the first to receive the drug. The disease has killed hundreds of doctors and nurses in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea — the three worst hit Ebola-affected countries — taking a severe toll on the health care systems of West Africa. 

Sierra Leone has seen the most cases of the virus, but Liberia leads the three in number of deaths at 3,605, according to latest World Health Organization (WHO) figures. The disease spread quickly this summer through the country's capital Monrovia, where poverty and lack of sanitation helped quicken transmission.  

GSK said Friday’s delivery would be just the beginning. Researchers hope to enroll up to 30,000 people in the trial, a third of whom would get GSK's candidate vaccine. The rest will serve as a control group to gauge the effectiveness of the drug. 

The vaccine arrives at a crucial time in the fight against Ebola, with health officials fearing that the April-May rainy season will hamper efforts to provide medical relief to remote regions.