<
https://www.who.int/news/item/22-11-2023-shipments-to-african-countries-herald-final-steps-toward-broader-vaccination-against-malaria--gavi--who-and-unicef>
"Shipments of the world’s first WHO-recommended malaria vaccine, RTS,S, have
begun with 331 200 doses landing last night in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The delivery
is the first to a country not previously involved in the malaria vaccine pilot
programme and signals that scale-up of vaccination against malaria across the
highest-risk areas on the African continent will begin shortly.
Nearly every minute, a child under five dies of malaria. In 2021, there were
247 million malaria cases globally, which led to 619 000 deaths. Of these
deaths, 77 per cent were children under 5 years of age, mostly in Africa.
Malaria burden is the highest on the African continent, which accounts for
approximately 95% of global malaria cases and 96% of related deaths in 2021.
A further 1.7 million doses of the RTS,S vaccine are expected to arrive in
Burkina Faso, Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone in the coming weeks, with
additional African countries set to receive doses in the months ahead. This
reflects the fact that several countries are now in the final stage of
preparations for malaria vaccine introduction into routine immunisation
programmes, which should see first doses administered in Q1 2024.
Comprehensive preparations are needed to introduce any new vaccine into
essential immunisation programmes – such as training of healthcare workers,
investing in infrastructure, technical capacity, vaccine storage, community
engagement and demand, and sequencing and integrating rollout alongside the
delivery of other vaccines and health interventions. Delivering the malaria
vaccine has the added challenge of a four-dose schedule which requires careful
planning to effectively deliver.
Since 2019, Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi have been administering the vaccine in a
schedule of 4 doses from around 5 months of age in selected districts as part
of the pilot programme, known as the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme
(MVIP). More than 2 million children have been reached with the malaria vaccine
in the three African countries through MVIP – resulting in a remarkable 13%
drop in all-cause mortality in children age-eligible to receive the vaccine,
and substantial reductions in severe malaria illness and hospitalizations.
Other key findings from the pilot programme show that vaccine uptake is high,
with no reduction in use of other malaria prevention measures or uptake of
other vaccines. MVIP is coordinated by WHO in collaboration with PATH, UNICEF
and other partners, and funded by Gavi, the Global Fund, and UNITAID, with
donated doses from GSK, the manufacturer of the RTS,S vaccine."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-child-nutrition-human-rights-bhutan-ocean-png/>
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
