[a fool in paradise]

Crazy that he was in the control group, does that mean he was given placebo to see how he reacted while others infected received treatment?

No I didn’t read anymore than the excerpt.

[DUMBGRUNT]

With Ebola spreading across West Africa, an experimental drug called ZMapp had been rushed into clinical testing. Seventy-two people, most of them in Africa, would be enrolled in two groups: those given the drug; and those kept on the standard care of fluids, medication and support. The doctors asked Gorman whether he wanted to be part of the trial. He agreed. But a computer randomized him to the control group. There would be no ZMapp for him.

"does that mean he was given placebo to see how he reacted while others infected received treatment?"

That is how it sounds.

An interesting read on several levels, take the time to take the time.