Why we’re still waiting on an Ebola vaccine

Researchers are scrambling to start trials before the outbreak fades, but establishing faith in vaccines will take time

AL JAZEERA AMERICA  by Amy Maxmen                       March 11, 2015

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Since Ebola hit this coastal city last summer, nurses at Connaught Hospital have put their lives on the line by working with patients at risk of the deadly disease. Now researchers aim to recruit them as well as ambulance drivers and other hospital staff as subjects in one of the largest Ebola vaccine trials to date.

But just a few weeks before the trial begins enrollment, many health care workers are voicing discomfort about the shot. “It would be really good to have a vaccine, but we’re scared because it’s new,” said Kadiatu Nubieu, a nurse at Connaught.

Researchers say the vaccines are safe, on the basis of small studies last year in which recipients did not suffer major side effects. Now researchers are planning for the final phase of trials designed to determine the efficacy of the vaccines.

Health workers such as Nubieu are ideal study participants for these trials because their chances of infection are higher than for members of the general public. If a vaccine keeps them healthier than unvaccinated hospital staff, scientists will have confidence in their product.

Read complete story.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/11/why-were-still-waiting-on-an-ebola-vaccine.html