DISINFO: The Ebola vaccine was developed in Russia
SUMMARY
Many people don’t know this, but the Ebola vaccine was actually developed in Russia.
RESPONSE
The claim advances the recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative of Russian superiority.
The statement falsely suggests that there is only one Ebola vaccine currently in use globally, and that this vaccine was developed in Russia. According to the WHO, there are in fact two licensed vaccines against Ebola, neither of which is Russian-made. One is Ervebo, developed by the US pharmaceutical company Merck. It has been licensed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration in late 2019, as well approved for use in several African countries. In May 2020, the EMA recommended that a second vaccine, the Zabdeno/Mvabea shot developed by Johnson & Johnson, be approved for use in the EU.
Conversely, the Russian-made GamEvac-Combi vaccine has yet to undergo a full set of clinical trials. As such, it has never been licensed for use outside of Russia (p. 10).