The triumphs of science are best appreciated when they make human life easier or safer, or simply provide hope. NS For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved an anti-malarial vaccine Those victories should be counted. The approval is a milestone in a timeline that records a lengthy and painstaking process for tackling malaria, and somehow reduced it to a killer. The WHO-approved vaccine – RTS, S – has since been used in pilot program participants (children and infants) in Africa since 2015. Received approval for this specific use from the European Medicines Agency. The victory comes at a time of great scientific effort, yes, but especially at a time when it was feared that progress against malaria was flagging. With this vaccine, which will significantly reduce the severity of cases and prevent deaths, there is hope that mankind can retard a pathogen in its tracks that has followed sub-Saharan Africa and many other parts of the world for years. . WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom rightly called it a historic moment, a breakthrough not only for malaria control but also for child health and the science itself. The malaria vaccine, RTS, S, which has been in the making for almost 30 years, works against P. falciparumIt is considered the deadliest malaria parasite globally. According to the WHO, in 2019, nearly half of the world’s population was at risk of malaria, while most cases and deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. There were an estimated 229 million cases in 2019, and the number of malaria deaths at 4,09,000, with a disproportionate burden on the WHO African region – 94% of cases and deaths. Children under the age of five are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria; In 2019, they accounted for nearly two-thirds of all malaria deaths.
The WHO said it was recommending it for use based on key findings from pilot projects implemented in child health clinics in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi over two years. The data and insights gathered from these studies showed that the vaccine was not only viable to introduce but that it improves health and saves lives. Remarkably, it facilitated equitable access to malaria prevention even during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to reach even inaccessible populations. While further steps have been taken to manufacture, fund and roll out a vaccine for countries most affected by malaria, maintaining equity of access is critical. Dr. Tedros emphasized in his press conference that while work toward providing vaccinations continues, nations cannot abandon their routine malaria prevention activities, including providing insecticide-treated bed nets . While the world now has a way to kill the rigors – the characteristic of the chills infection – the next step should be the quick and careful implementation of the scientific marvel from the lab to the field.
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