News at a glance: Long-awaited malaria shots, risks of face recognition technology, and Japan ’s first moon landing

GLOBAL HEALTH Long-awaited malaria shots rolled out After a 60-year quest, the first-ever routine childhood malaria vaccinations—those given as part of the regular immunization schedule—were administered to infants and toddlers in Cameroon on 22 January. They received RTS,S or Mosquirix, made by GlaxoSmithKline and approved for general use in 2021 by the World Health Organization (WHO). The vaccine’s efficacy wanes substantially over time, but a 4-year pilot rollout required by WHO in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi showed it slashed illness and death in young children. Nineteen other African countries aim to begin administering RTS,S or another recently approved malaria vaccine, R21, routinely this year. Both are given as a series of four shots, normally beginning in the sixth month of life. Malaria kills about 470,000 children younger than age 5 in Africa annually. In Cameroon, malaria incidence grew by 49% between 2015 and 2022. REGULATORY POLICY U.S. agency powers go on trial The U.S. Supreme Court last week appeared closer to overturning a 40-year legal doctrine, known as the Chevron deference, in which judges allow federal agencies to interpret ambiguous legislative mandates. To do so, agencies often rely on staff scientists. The two cases before the court involve a requirement that herring companies pay for onboard monitoring of their catch to prevent overfishing. The companies say the rule is an overreach of the...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research