Coverage Continues On U.N. Panel’s Endorsement To Use Untested Ebola Drugs

News outlets continue coverage on the U.N.’s endorsement of and ethics around the use of untested Ebola drugs.

Associated Press/Washington Post: U.N.: OK to use untested Ebola drugs in outbreak
“The World Health Organization declared it’s ethical to use untested drugs and vaccines in the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa, although the tiny supply of one experimental treatment has been depleted and it could be many months until more is available…” (Cheng et al., 8/12).

The Hill: More Ebola drugs may be months away
“It will take months to produce even a small batch of a promising new drug to counter Ebola, according to U.S. health officials…” (Al-Faruque, 8/12).

The Hill: WHO endorses use of untested Ebola drugs
“The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said it has endorsed the use of experimental drugs to help treat victims of the Ebola virus, which more than 1,800 people have contracted in several countries in Africa…” (Shabad, 8/12).

Science Magazine: The other Ebola debate: What about existing drugs?
“An ethical panel convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) broke new ground [Tuesday] when it said that using experimental, unapproved drugs or vaccines in the current Ebola outbreak is ethical– assuming a set of criteria is met. There is a big problem, however: None of the experimental therapies and vaccines appears to be available in quantities large enough to treat the thousands in need. One of the issues that needs to be debated is how to fairly distribute the scant resources, the panel said in a statement…” (Enserink, 8/12).

Science Magazine: Using experimental drugs and vaccines against Ebola is ethical, WHO panel says
“An ethics panel at the World Health Organization (WHO) has given a green light to treating Ebola patients with experimental drugs for the deadly virus…” (Kupferschmidt, 8/12).

Scientific American: U.N. Panel Says It Is Ethical to Dole Out Experimental Ebola Drugs
“Even as the Ebola crisis rages onward in West Africa, a World Health Organization panel concluded on August 11 that offering patients promising experimental Ebola drugs with unknown side effects and efficacy would be ethical…” (Maron, 8/12).

VOA News: WHO Endorses Use of Experimental Ebola Drugs
“The World Health Organization has approved the use of experimental drugs for people who have Ebola, a deadly virus that already has claimed more than 1,000 lives in West Africa…” (Pearson, 8/12).

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