We congratulate Drs. Francis Collins and Tony Fauci and their teams at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the first published results from Phase 1 clinical trials of a promising Ebola vaccine candidate. This candidate has shown initial promise to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus infection. The outstanding work of the Department of Health and Human Services’ agencies — NIH, the centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority — to conduct expedited vaccine trials is evidence of this Administration’s determination to mount an aggressive, whole-of-governemnt response to the Ebola crisis. Today’s news is another important milestone in that effort, and lays the groundwork for the critical clinical trials to follow shortly in Ebola-impacted countries to determine the saftey and efficacy of Ebola vaccine candidates on a larger scale.
To congratulate the NIH team, mark this achievement, and discuss progress on other fronts of the fight against Ebola, President Obama will visit NIH next week, on Tuesday, December 2nd. Additionally, the President will use the visit to make the case for prompt Congressional action on his emergency funding request to combat Ebola at home and abroad.