The World Health Organization has recommended a vaccine against malaria - one of the main causes of death in the world. Its widespread use can save hundreds of thousands of children a year.
This is a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and is only the second vaccine for the disease, caused by the Plasmodium parasite transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. The parasite is especially dangerous because it mutates within the human body and evades the immune system.
Jemia Yeshaq Osman sitting with her children with malaria, Chad, Photo: GettyImages
"I dreamed of a day when we would have a safe and effective vaccine against malaria - now we have two," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus said today. According to the organization, the effectiveness of the two vaccines is very similar, but the difference is that the new vaccine, called R21, can go into mass production. The world's largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, is already preparing to issue 100 million doses this year, doubling that number next year. By comparison, the older vaccine, RTS, has only 18 million doses.
World Health Organization recommends new malaria vaccine | Reuters
According to the Health Organization, four doses are required to vaccinate a person, and the price of each dose is up to $4 – half the price of the older vaccine.
Malaria is one of humanity's oldest enemies. In 2021, 247 million cases of illness were recorded. 619,95 people died, the vast majority children under the age of five. <>% of cases are recorded in Africa.
"The new vaccine really has real potential to close the gap between supply and demand," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Africa director at the WHO. "The two vaccines together can save hundreds of thousands of children's lives." However, the organization clarifies that the vaccine is more effective in areas where malaria is a seasonal plague than in areas where the parasite is active throughout the year.
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