Race to Create an Ebola Vaccine, Sierra Leone

The deadliest Ebola outbreak in history began in 2014. By the year’s end, the virus had infected nearly 20,000 people and killed close to 8,000—including 375 health workers—in three countries along the West African coast.

“We must take action now so that a tragedy on the scale of West Africa never happens again,” explained Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Paul Stoffels. In response to the public health crisis, Johnson & Johnson took immediate action. It began developing an Ebola vaccine at unprecedented speed.

The drug’s first clinical trial found that after receiving the vaccine, 100 percent of healthy volunteers developed antibodies against Ebola and their defense against the virus remained over time. The study’s promising results suggest that this vaccine could be an effective tool to prevent a future Ebola epidemic. Today, the clinical trials and scientific research continue.

Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever, meaning it causes the body to overheat and can lead to severe bleeding.

Image courtesy: Frederick A. Murphy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Johnson & Johnson entered into a global private-public partnership with leading health and research organizations to advance an Ebola “prime boost” vaccine regimen.

Image courtesy: Johnson & Johnson Archives

Due to their close contact with Ebola patients’ bodily fluids, healthcare workers and family members were at the highest risk of becoming infected. Rigorous handwashing and avoidance of direct contact with the ill was the best prevention.

Image courtesy: Lindsey Horton, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Johnson & Johnson remains fully committed to its vaccine development program so the world can be better prepared should another Ebola outbreak occur.

Image courtesy: Athalia Christie, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention