A little vaccine update

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Last week, I received a booster dose of the VSV-EBOV Ebola vaccine that I've blogged about before, and I'm happy to report that I had no symptoms this go around. This is a pretty stark contrast from when I got my first dose...a 101.6 degreefever and terrible joint pain make for a pretty miserable evening!

Figure 1: A picture of the vaccine, isn't it cute?

Figure 1: A picture of the vaccine, isn't it cute?

Since starting the trial, a few bits of news regarding this particular vaccine have come out. An article from NPR a few weeks ago noted that a vaccine trial in Switzerland using the same vaccine noted increased joint pain in their patients, leading them to stop the trial. I also had pretty significant joint pain, but our trial here at the NIH is trucking along pretty nicely. Huzzah!

NewLink Genetics, the company that produces the vaccine, was also awarded a $30 million grant today from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to manufacture and develop the vaccine in collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Merck. The NIH also announced that they will initiate further phases of the clinical trial next year. Keep your eyes and ears out for updates on how this story evolves!