The Daily Populous Thursday December 5th, 2024 evening edition
Authored by abcnews.go.com and submitted by AudibleNod

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone -- Authorities in Sierra Leone on Thursday started a nationwide rollout of the single-dose Ebola vaccine, the first such campaign in West Africa where a deadly outbreak 10 years ago resulted in the death of thousands.

The 2014 Ebola outbreak – the deadliest in history – was primarily in West Africa but affected Sierra Leone the most, with nearly 4,000 deaths out of the more than 11,000 recorded globally. The country also lost 7% of its healthcare workforce to the outbreak.

The nationwide vaccine campaign, implemented by the government in partnership with the global vaccine alliance Gavi, the World Health Organization and the United Nations children’s agency, will target 20,000 frontline workers across the country, officials said.

“This is an investment in the safety of our people and a healthier Sierra Leone,” Health Minister Dr. Austin Demby said.

There had been no approved vaccine at the time of the 2014 outbreak that recorded up to 28,000 cases, starting in Guinea before spreading across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia, the other two countries affected the most.

Three years have passed since the last case was recorded in Guinea, although officials have spoken of remaining threats in endemic regions.

Among those killed by the disease during the 2014 outbreak were nine relatives of Hassan Kamara, a resident of Freetown. Of the 11 people he was living with at the time, only he and his baby daughter survived.

“They died in front of me,” he said. “I feel bad sometimes speaking about this because of what I went through."

Thursday’s campaign, which launched in the capital, Freetown, was welcomed by health workers.

Collins Thomas, a community health worker in Freetown, remembers losing many colleagues in 2014 as they managed patients during the outbreak in Freetown.

“It was scary, because we knew nothing about the disease and learned along the line. With this vaccine, we know we are protected,” Thomas said.

Gavi chief executive Dr. Sania Nishtar said the organization is “incredibly proud” of how its support for timely and equitable access to vaccines has helped save lives and protect communities.

“To have the first nationwide preventive vaccination campaign take place in the country most deeply impacted by the 2014 outbreak makes this historic milestone even more meaningful,” he said.

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

sharponephilly on December 5th, 2024 at 17:51 UTC »

Bad day to be an Ebola.

chupagatos4 on December 5th, 2024 at 16:34 UTC »

Wow. It's been a decade already. Remember donating to Msf at the time after reading how horrible the situation was.

masteremrald on December 5th, 2024 at 16:09 UTC »

Article says the country lost 7% of its healthcare workers in the 2014 outbreak, and this rollout will target 20k frontline workers.

Good to see them investing in the safety of their healthcare workers who risk their lives to help people.