Unless you follow these things, you might not know that a vaccine for the deadly Ebola virus has been licensed in both Europe and the U.S. The vaccine appears to be highly effective and is a big deal. Although Ebola has not, historically, been widespread, it is so deadly and its effects so horrible that an effective vaccine is a big deal. That and the fact that Ebola has shown signs of spreading outside of its traditional habitat of Africa means that this is news we should all welcome.
Stat News has an excellent and interesting article that tells the story of the vaccine’s development and how close it came to not happening. The story is involved and complicated so I won’t try to retell it here but it has all the elements that such a story should have: good ideas, luck, independent researchers sharing knowledge and techniques, serendipity, bureaucratic interference, fierce opposition even after trials showed that the vaccine was effective, and much more.
The article is definitely a good read and a reminder of how fragile a success like this can be. Lots of little pieces had to fall into place and it would have been easy for the project to fail. It’s an inspiring story. Take a few minutes to read it.