Sierra Leone has become the first of the three countries severely affected by the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa to announce an Ebola vaccination campaign for health workers and first responders from December 5.
The campaign, in partnership with Gavi, the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF, targets 20,000 health workers across the country’s 16 districts.
Healthcare professionals, ambulance drivers, traditional healers, religious leaders, security personnel, and other high-risk groups will receive a single dose of the Ervebo vaccine, according to a joint statement by the organizations.
Dr. Austin Demby, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, says the Gavi-funded vaccine stockpiles will be used in a nationwide preventive vaccination campaign to strengthen the country’s health system.
“Protecting our frontline workers is vital to our National Health Security Plan, ensuring preparedness and resilience against future health threats. This is an investment in the safety of our people and a healthier Sierra Leone”, he said in the statement.
The unavailability of Ebola vaccines has left those on the front line vulnerable, the vaccination campaign promises to change that.
The campaign marks a decade since the 2014 Ebola PHEIC, the deadliest outbreak in history, during which Sierra Leone lost 7 percent of its healthcare workforce.
The 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak, which claimed over 11,000 lives globally—primarily in West Africa—devastated Sierra Leone, causing nearly 4,000 deaths and over 9,000 infections.
