October 3, 2014
On August 12, 2014 the Government of Canada announced the donation of 800-1000 doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada to the World Health Organization (WHO). The vaccine, VSV-EBOV, has never been tested in humans, but has shown promise in animal research. It is the result of years of hard work and innovation by Canadian scientists to better global public health and security.
This donation represents up to two-thirds of the total doses of this experimental vaccine currently in the possession of the Public Health Agency of Canada. The remainder will be kept in Canada for further research, and for the unlikely case that it is needed for compassionate use.
The doses are ready to be transported the moment the WHO requests that they be transferred or deployed. However, the WHO has determined that there are some important safety and ethical considerations that it needs to resolve before the vaccine doses can be given to people. The global community, under the leadership of the WHO, are making progress addressing those issues. To be clear, there is no delay from the Public Health Agency of Canada and we are ready to send these experimental doses at a moment's notice.
The most important consideration is that the vaccine is experimental and there have only been a handful of people in the world who have ever received it, and the WHO is leading efforts at securing more information about the safety of the vaccine before giving it to people in the outbreak in West Africa.
The Government of Canada maintains ownership of the intellectual property associated with the vaccine and has the rights to ship to the WHO when requested.
Media Inquiries:
Media Relations
Public Health Agency of Canada
(613) 957-2983
