DR Congo Launches Ebola Vaccination for Health Workers as Bundibugyo Death Toll Climbs
Health workers in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) began receiving an Ebola vaccine on Saturday as authorities try to shield frontline responders from an outbreak caused by a virus for which no vaccine has been licensed.
The rollout started in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, the epicenter of what officials describe as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. The campaign is backed by the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, and is expected to expand to North Kivu, where cases have risen sharply.
About 50,000 health workers and other frontline staff are set to receive the Ervebo vaccine, which was developed to protect against the more common Zaire strain of Ebola. Its effectiveness against the Bundibugyo virus driving the current outbreak will be tracked in 20,000 recipients for up to a year, health authorities said.
Provincial governor Maj. Gen. Gaby Kasongo Mulumba said health workers in Ituri “are particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response.”
The vaccination drive is being carried out under a compassionate-use program, which allows an unapproved medical product to be used in a serious outbreak when no licensed alternative exists. The WHO said in August that 70,000 doses of Ervebo had been approved for use in the DRC.
Clinical trials are still under way to find a licensed vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain. The current outbreak has no licensed vaccine or proven treatment, leaving responders to rely on a product designed for a different Ebola species while they gather evidence on whether it offers cross-protection.
“We don’t know to what degree it might be effective against the Bundibugyo strain,” said Steve Ahuka, a Congolese official on the health task force fighting the outbreak.
WHO experts have pointed to early data, especially from animal trials, suggesting Ervebo could provide some protection. At a health facility in Bunia, Dr. Jeannot Elua described the vaccine as “beneficial.”
“We healthcare workers don’t really have a choice. We are going to receive it,” he told the Associated Press. “Some people here had already received the previous vaccine. I received it myself, because it was mandatory.”
The outbreak has infected about 7,541 people and killed at least 3,639 since May, according to the latest figures from local authorities. About 1,823 people have recovered.
Protecting health workers is a central part of the response: when doctors, nurses and burial teams fall ill or stay home, contact tracing, treatment and community trust can quickly erode. But vaccination alone is unlikely to end the outbreak. Responders still depend on infection prevention, safe burials, early detection and community engagement to break transmission chains.
While WHO officials have cited “encouraging signs” that transmission may be slowing, MSF warned on Friday that there is no clear evidence the epidemic is coming under control.
Workers at the Ceca-20 cemetery in Mongbwalu, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on July 14, 2026, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus. [File: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters]