The vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and GlaxoSmithKline, was tested in 20 participants in the US at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda. In the first results from tests on an experimental Ebola vaccine, researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) report for the first time Wednesday that the shot is safe and that it leads to an immune response among healthy volunteers. The advantage to that system is that it might launch a stronger and more robust immune response than the NIAID and GSK shot, which may require a boost after several months to maintain strong immune protection against Ebola. The only side effects were short-lived fevers in two people who received the higher dose.
– The world took a small but significant step toward an Ebola vaccine today. Results of a study involving 20 people in the US found that the vaccine worked well enough to move on to round two—a much bigger test group of thousands of people in Africa, reports USA Today. If all goes well, that means the vaccine made by GlaxoSmithKline could be available in the second half of next year, reports the BBC. The National Institutes of Health reported the results today. "Whether it's a breakthrough depends on making sure that all the rest of data over the next few weeks and months is in line," says the chief executive of the drug-maker. "But this certainly gives us very significant cause for optimism." One drawback: It took high doses of the drug to trigger an immune response, which could eventually complicate mass production. One plus: The vaccine contains no live Ebola virus and can't cause the disease. A second vaccine candidate being tested does use live Ebola virus, but it's been "crippled so it can’t reproduce once it infects a person," explains Time.