The World Health Organization (WHO) has endorsed the widespread rollout of the first malaria vaccine with the experts hoping that it could save tens of thousands of children’s lives each year across Africa.
Hailing it as “an historic day”, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that after a successful pilot programme in three African countries, the RTS,S vaccine should be made available more widely.
The WHO recommendation is for RTS,S – or Mosquirix – a vaccine developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.
“This is a vaccine developed in Africa by African scientists and we’re very proud,” said Ghebreyesus.
According to European Medicines Agency, Mosquirix is a vaccine that can be administered to children aged 6 weeks to 17 months to help protect against malaria.
It also helps protect against infection of the liver with the hepatitis B virus, but European Medicines Agency warns that the vaccine should not be used only for this purpose.
The vaccine was developed by GlaxoSmithKline in 1987. However, it does face challenges: Mosquirix requires up to four doses, and its protection fades after several months.
Still, scientists hope that the vaccine could have a major impact against malaria in Africa.
Since 2019, 2.3 million doses of Mosquirix have been administered to infants in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in a large-scale pilot programme coordinated by WHO.
