By Nandhini Srinivasan and Leroy Leo
Dec. 14 – Ebola vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and Merck have produced antibodies that fight the virus and are safe in children and adults, according to data from two studies released Wednesday.
The vaccines targeted the Zaire strain of the virus, not the Sudanese strain of Ebola that recently sparked a deadly hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Uganda.
Antibody levels remained present in both children and adults for a year, according to studies conducted in West Africa.
“I think the study shows that both vaccines elicit good antibody responses and also a booster of vsv extension (of Merck) probably won’t add much in the long run,” said one of the researchers, Dr. H. Clifford Lane.
Only Merck’s vaccine can potentially be given as a single dose, while J&J’s may need to continue as a two-dose regimen, Lane added.
However, the researchers cautioned they could not assess protection against the disease as no participants contracted Ebola during the trial, which began enrollment in 2017.
“Participants in this study are being followed up long-term to determine if and when booster doses might be needed,” said Brian Greenwood, study co-author from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
One regimen involved one dose of J&J vaccine, followed by a booster of Bavarian Nordic vaccine, another regimen involved two doses of Merck vaccine eight weeks apart, and the third consisted of a placebo eight weeks after the vaccine.
The studies were conducted on a total of 1,400 adults and 1,401 children aged 1 to 17, in collaboration with the Liberian Ministry of Health and the Mali University Center for Clinical Research and Vaccine Development Center.
Merck’s Ervebo vaccine was approved by the European regulator and prequalified by the World Health Organization in 2019, and J&J’s Zabdeno obtained European approval and WHO after.
Uganda said earlier this month it had discharged its latest Ebola patient, raising hopes that an epidemic that has killed at least 56 people will end.
