Researchers have created an experimental Ebola vaccine that has been successful in providing complete protection against the disease, according to The New York Times.
Here are five things to know:
1. While regulatory authorities have yet to approve the vaccine, investigators have created 300,000 emergency doses in case the Ebola outbreak resurfaces.
2. Researchers tested the vaccine on monkeys and found it provided protection if the monkeys received the vaccine at least a week before the researchers gave the monkeys a high dose of Ebola.
3. Ebola's major outbreak occurred in 2014, killing 11,000 people in Africa and then spreading overseas. The diseases affected various people in both Europe and the United States. The 2014 outbreak spearheaded serious efforts to creating an effective vaccine.
4. While the new vaccine does provide 100 percent protection, experts say it does have some shortcomings, including it works only against one of the two most common Ebola strains. Additionally, the vaccine's protection doesn't have a lengthy shelf life.
5. Headquartered in Kenilworth, N.J., Merck holds the license to the vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, which the Public Health Agency of Canada and the United States Army created over 10 years ago. Next steps for Merck entail obtaining approval from the WHO.
