WHO Approves First Malaria Vaccine

A new vaccine against malaria, made by GlaxoSmithKline has been endorsed by the World Health Organization. To have a malaria vaccine that is safe, moderately effective and ready for distribution is “a historic event,” said Dr. Pedro Alonso, director of the W.H.O.’s global malaria program. The quest for a malaria vaccine has been underway for a hundred years. According to a modeling study last yera, this vaccine which is called Mosquirix could prevent 5.4 million cases and 23,000 deaths in children younger than



5 each year.

"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.”

Malaria kills about 500,000 people each year, about half of them children in Africa. Malaria is rare in the developed world. The United States, for example reports only 2000 cases each year, mostly among travelers returning from countries in which the disease is endemic.

In clinical trials, the vaccine, made by British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, was effective at reducing severe malaria by only 30% in the first year after it was administered, according to WHO — although some experts put the figure at closer to 50%.

To be effective, four doses of the vaccine must be administered starting at the age of 5 months — which could pose logistical problems since delivering vaccines on the continent is already a challenge.