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, “We are seeing the 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 und...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news