According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the vaccine is designed to spur the immune system's production of anti-Ebola antibodies. Some of those given the vaccine developed antibodies within four weeks of getting the shots at the National Institutes of Health. Half of the test group received a higher-dose shot, and those people produced more antibodies.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci calls both types of immune responses "a promising factor.'' The researchers reported no serious side effects.
Scientists are racing to develop ways to prevent or treat the virus that has killed more than 5,600 people in West Africa.
