UN starts vaccinating people against Ebola in Congo
ABC News
The World Health Organization says officials have begun vaccinating people in eastern Congo against Ebola, after it was confirmed last week that the disease killed a toddler
LONDON -- The World Health Organization said Wednesday that officials have begun vaccinating people in eastern Congo against Ebola, after it was confirmed last week that the disease killed a toddler.
The U.N. health agency said in a statement that people at high risk of catching the disease, including the young boy's family members and health workers, would receive first doses of the vaccine made by Merck.
WHO said about a thousand doses of the vaccine arrived in Goma, the capital of Congo's North Kivu province, and 200 doses were sent to Beni, a city near the area where the first case was identified last week.
The new Ebola outbreak that started Oct. 8 comes after a devastating epidemic that began in 2018, when the disease killed more than 2, 200 people in the conflict-ridden region - and when more than 80 Ebola responders working under WHO were found to have sexually abused people during the agency's efforts to stop the disease.
