World Health Organization endorses first ever malaria vaccine

Posted by David Henning on 6 October 2021

The World Health Organization endorsed the first-ever vaccine to prevent malaria on Wednesday, 6 October 2021, recommending its widespread use amongst children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine for children is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019.

‘This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,’ said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. ‘Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.’

The malaria vaccine, RTS,S, acts against P. falciparum, the most deadly malaria parasite globally, and the most prevalent in Africa. Malaria is the primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 260 000 African children under the age of five dying from the parasite.

‘For centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering,’ said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. ‘We have long hoped for an effective malaria vaccine and now for the first time ever, we have such a vaccine recommended for widespread use. Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults.’

Even when the disease is non-fatal, it permanently alters the immune system, where recovered patients are often weak and vulnerable to other pathogens.

Called ‘Mosquirix’, The WHO organisation states that the malaria vaccine should be in a schedule of four doses in children from five months of age. To date, more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administrated in three African countries, with 90% of children now protected against malaria.

The vaccine has also been shown to have a high safety profile and the vaccine introductions are led by the ministries of health in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi and funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Unitaid. A pilot programme is still underway to study the added value of a fourth does and measure the longer-term impact on child deaths.

Picture: Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance

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