A new Ebola vaccine is being called “highly effective” following a small study in Guinea, West Africa.
The study of the Ebola vaccine included two groups; one was given the vaccine immediately and the other had to wait for some time first. The first group saw no cases of Ebola and the second saw 16. However, six days after the second group was vaccinated no new cases of the disease were found, reports NPR.
The Ebola vaccine currently has a 100% success rate. However, it’s believed that this number will fall as it’s administered to more people. The vaccine was provided by Merck (MRK) and the study was funded by the World Health Organization (WHO) and others, NPR notes.
“This is an extremely promising development,” Margaret Chan, Director-General of the WHO, told USA Today. “The credit goes to the Guinean government, the people living in the communities and our partners in this project. An effective vaccine will be another very important tool for both current and future Ebola outbreaks.”
MRK shares were up slightly as of Friday afternoon.
