An agent of the National Institute of Public Hygiene vaccinates a doctor against the Ebola virus, at the University Hospital of Cocody during a vaccination operation of health personnel after the first Ebola patient was brought in, in Cocody, Ivory Coast on Aug 16, 2021. (SIA KAMBOU / AFP)

Ivory Coast started vaccinating health workers Monday with a donation of 5,000 doses of Ebola vaccines provided by Guinea after the first case of the viral illness in 25 years was reported at the weekend.

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The consignment included 3,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson inoculations and 2,000 doses of Merck & Co shots, Sakoba Keita, head of Guinea’s health security agency, said by phone Monday from the capital, Conakry.

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Guinea, which ended its latest outbreak of Ebola in June, also deployed health experts to support a rapid response to the virus in Ivory Coast, Keita said, without elaborating.