The global Ebola vaccine stockpile has authorised an immediate initial allocation of 70,000 Ervebo doses to the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the country's Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak, according to a joint WHO and Africa CDC release.

WHO says 20,000 doses are intended for a Phase 3 clinical trial to study the vaccine's effect against Bundibugyo virus, while 50,000 are for frontline and health workers under current recommendations. The release says the DRC government requested doses last week and the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision informed it of the initial allocation on Monday.

The critical qualification is scientific as well as logistical. Ervebo is licensed for Ebola virus disease caused by Ebola virus, and WHO says it is not known whether it protects against Bundibugyo virus in humans. Access, consent, community engagement and the wider response remain open questions, and the allocation is not evidence that a protective vaccine already exists for this outbreak strain.