Vaccines alliance promises $5M to fund Ebola vaccine

HEALTH

Vaccines alliance promises $5M to fund Ebola vaccine

The Associated Press Published Wednesday, January 20, 2016 6:30AM EST

People pass a banner reading 'STOP EBOLA' forming part of Sierra Leone's Ebola free campaign in the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. (AP / Aurelie Marrier d'Unienville)

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LONDON - The global vaccine alliance GAVI says it will donate $5 million toward developing the leading Ebola vaccine, hoping that it will be approved by a regulator by the end of 2017.

If the vaccine is given the green light, GAVI says it will then create a stockpile to help stamp out future outbreaks of the lethal disease. The vaccine's producer, Merck & Co. Inc., says it will ensure that 300,000 doses are available from May for use in advanced trials and emergency use.

In a statement on Wednesday, GAVI CEO Dr. Seth Berkley said 鈥渢he world is still worryingly underprepared for potential future health threats.鈥�

In 2014 - during the biggest-ever outbreak of Ebola - GAVI pledged to spend $300 million to buy Ebola vaccines for poor countries.