About five years ago, I shared the below story – I reshare it now because it gives me hope that we might be able to work together across so many nations, and find a way to defeat COVID-19.

In December 2013, the first reported case in the Ebola outbreak was found in Guinea close to the border of Liberia and Sierra Leone. By mid-2015, there had been close to 28,000 reported cases and 11,298 deaths across 10 countries (though mainly in 3 – Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia). It was an international health crisis that had raged for almost two years, but in that tragedy, there have been pockets of hope. Most of the news media and conversation has focused on what countries can do in the midst of the crisis, how healthcare workers can be supported in this role, and really, just how large of a toll this has taken on citizens of the affected countries.

In August of 2015, a story broke regarding an experimental Ebola vaccine being tested in Guinea, which has shown promising results. The official report, which cited over 7,500 individuals in the study, indicated that the vaccine “might be highly efficacious and safe in preventing Ebola virus disease.” The study involved inoculating two groups of people: people who had come into contact with Ebola patients, and the contacts of those initial contacts. This is the first time that a vaccine’s effectiveness had used a “so-called ring vaccination approach” where both of these groups were vaccinated.

A lot still needs to be done – in particular, studying the long-term effects of the vaccine and whether entire populations should be vaccinated. But for now, I want to celebrate two things. The first is the incredible power in partnerships. A number of organizations worked in partnership on this project – ranging from the WHO, the Guinean Health Ministry, Doctors without Borders, research centers, and even the company who made the vaccine storage device (shaped somewhat like a beer keg). I do not doubt that working together was difficult at times, tiresome in others, and seemingly impossible from the outside. These are vastly different organizations and working bodies – from the Guinean Health Ministry to the researchers at the Public Health Agency of Canada where the vaccine was created. It was not easy. And yet, here we are, looking back at a successful outcome. As we have shown many times over – we do our best work together.

The second thing I want to commemorate is how quickly this was developed by scientists once the social imperative, public pressure, and funding was there. As Dr. Mark Feinberg, chief public health and scientific officer at Merck Vaccines said “In the past, I think there wasn’t a strong belief that we needed an Ebola vaccine or that it would actually be possible to develop an Ebola vaccine. Now I think there’s unanimity.” It makes you wonder what we could be accomplishing right now, but aren’t because one of those three things isn’t there – social imperative, public pressure, or funding.

The full story is available here -- https://www.statnews.com/2020/01/07/inside-story-scientists-produced-world-first-ebola-vaccine/.

As we all do everything we can to limit our interactions and stay home, I am hopeful that scientists and researchers are working together across countries towards a common goal. Please stay safe.

-Reshma

We do our best work together...