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The Ministry of Health has launched a campaign against the Ebola virus in which health workers and front-line health workers will be immunized against the virus.
This measure is intended to prevent health care workers from getting the virus if they have to deal with patients who have it.
This announcement comes after a Wednesday cabinet meeting approved the use of recombinant vaccine against vesicular stomatitis virus, an experimental drug intended for protection against the virus.
Dr Diane Gashumba, Minister of Health, said yesterday that although Rwanda is not infected with the Ebola virus, the vaccination is aware that the epidemic has persisted in the neighboring DRC.
In the current outbreak in DR Congo, 1087 people have been infected with the virus and 60% of them have died, while 370 have been treated and recovered.
The vaccine was donated to Rwanda by Merck, a US pharmaceutical company that developed it.
This support was channeled through the World Health Organization. It is estimated at about $ 1 billion.
The vaccination campaign begins on April 15 and lasts five months. It covers 15 districts that, according to doctors, are more susceptible to the epidemic.
They are: Nyarugenge, Gasabo, Kicukiro, Rubavu, Rutsiro, Nyamasheke, Musanze, Nyabihu, Burera, Gicumbi, Nyagatare, Karongi, Bugesera, Nyanza and Rusizi.
Jean Baptiste Mazarati, head of clinical services at Rwanda's Biomedical Center, said more than 8,000 health and front-line workers have shown that they are ready to be vaccinated.
Mazarati, who is also the leader of the vaccination efforts, said the drugs available could accommodate 3,000 people.
The vaccine not yet approved has been shown to be extremely protective against the zaire strain of Ebola virus as part of a major trial.
It has been used in the current outbreak of Ebola in the Equateur province in the Democratic Republic of Congo from May to July 2018.
Even though it has not yet received the commercial license recommended by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, the vaccine is provided for a "compassionate use" in order to effectively combat the disease at Ebola virus underway in the province of North Kivu in DR Congo.
About 10,000 people were vaccinated with this vaccine in DR Congo and other countries, particularly in West Africa, victims of the epidemic a few years ago.
Dr. Gashumba urged citizens to share any information in case they suspect signs of the outbreak.
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