<
https://web.archive.org/web/20231024233155/https://www.science.org/content/article/first-malaria-vaccine-slashes-early-childhood-deaths>
"In a major analysis in Africa, the first vaccine approved to fight malaria cut
deaths among young children by 13% over nearly 4 years, the World Health
Organization (WHO) reported last week. The huge evaluation of a pilot rollout
of the vaccine, called RTS,S or Mosquirix and made by GlaxoSmithKline, also
showed a 22% reduction in severe malaria in kids young enough to receive a
three-shot series. Hundreds of thousands of children are born annually in the
parts of Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi included in the analysis, for which WHO
revealed the final data on 20 October at the annual meeting of the American
Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
“The RTS,S malaria vaccine is already saving lives,” said John Tanko Bawa,
director of malaria vaccine implementation at PATH, a nonprofit that develops
vaccines and therapies for global health problems. He added, “What we have seen
is a considerable impact of a vaccine described as having modest efficacy.” (A
late-stage clinical trial delivered lackluster results on the durability of the
vaccine’s protection.)
The 13% drop in deaths is so remarkable that “I was surprised I didn’t hear any
gasps when it was stated,” joked medical epidemiologist Mary Hamel, who led the
WHO pilot program. The mortality decline could translate to tens of thousands
of lives saved if RTS,S, which WHO approved for widespread use in 2021, is more
broadly deployed: In 2021, malaria killed an estimated 468,000 children under
age 5 in sub-Saharan Africa. Seventeen countries in the region have already won
approval to receive doses that will start to roll out next year."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-women-rights-france-ntds-africa-bears-europe/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
