'Safe and effective': first malaria vaccine to be rolled out in 12 African countries

Source: The Guardian

‘Safe and effective’: first malaria vaccine to be rolled out in 12 African countries

An initial 18m doses will be delivered over the next two years to combat a disease that kills nearly half a million children annually

Kaamil Ahmed
Thu 6 Jul 2023 14.34 BST

A long-awaited vaccine for malaria has been announced for rollout across 12 African countries over the next two years, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives.

An initial 18m doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine have been assigned to the countries where the risk of children falling ill and dying from malaria is highest, according to a statement from the global vaccine alliance Gavi, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef.

“This vaccine has the potential to be very impactful in the fight against malaria, and when broadly deployed alongside other interventions, it can prevent tens of thousands of deaths every year,” said Thabani Maphosa, the managing director of country programmes delivery at Gavi.

Another 16 African countries have asked for access to the vaccine and will be hoping for supplies when production has been scaled up.

The vaccine, named RTS,S/AS01, was declared “safe and effective” ...

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/jul/06/safe-and-effective-first-malaria-vaccine-to-be-rolled-out-in-12-african-countries

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