"Are you sure it's not the corona vaccine?" An ebola vaccine trial during COVID-19 in DRC

James, Myfanwy Vaughan ORCID: 0000-0001-7194-1287 and Lees, Shelley Susan (2022) "Are you sure it's not the corona vaccine?" An ebola vaccine trial during COVID-19 in DRC. Medical Anthropology, 41 (5). 503 - 517. ISSN 0145-9740

Text (Are You Sure It s Not the Corona Vaccine An Ebola Vaccine Trial During COVID 19 in DRC) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (796kB)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic began as an Ebola epidemic was unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this article, we examine how COVID-19 influenced experiences of an Ebola vaccine trial and attitudes towards medical research in Goma. First, critical debates about vaccine research became a forum in which to contest ineffective local governance and global inequality. Second, discussions about new COVID-19 therapeutics reignited critique of Western biomedical colonialism. Third, rumors were made powerful through everyday observations of the unexpected adaption of Ebola trial procedures in the pandemic. This illustrates the difficulties of maintaining participants’ trust, when circumstances dictate protocol alterations mid-trial.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	International Development
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Date Deposited:	01 Sep 2023 15:39
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2024 06:27
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120133

Actions (login required)

View Item