UK regulator approves first human trial of Ebola vaccine developed in eight weeks

UK regulators have approved the first human trial of an Ebola vaccine, developed in eight weeks by Oxford scientists using the technology behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine.

• The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted permission for the trial, which will test the vaccine on 50 healthy adults aged 18-55.
• Oxford scientists began developing the vaccine eight weeks ago when a public health emergency was declared on 17 May, making it the first of four candidate vaccines to enter clinical trials.
• The Serum Institute of India has manufactured around 620,000 doses of the vaccine, which uses a genetically modified chimpanzee cold virus to deliver genetic material from the Bundibugyo Ebola species.
• Dr Katrina Pollock, the trial's chief investigator, said any risk of side effects would be communicated to volunteers and that severe side effects are very rare.