A healthcare worker administers a malaria vaccine to a child in Nigeria to combat malaria prevalence.
Health workers in Ivory Coast have launched a vaccination campaign using the new malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M, developed by researchers at Oxford University. It is the second malaria vaccine ever developed after GSK’s Mosquirix. The campaign targets about 250,000 children under two and hopes to curb the impact of one of Africa’s biggest diseases. Authorized by the WHO last October, this three-dose vaccine has shown over 75% efficacy in preventing severe malaria and death in the first year, with protection extended for at least another year with a booster. With the campaign, Ivory Coast is the first West African country to roll out this vaccine. However, other African countries like the Central African Republic, Chad, and South Sudan have also received supplies of the vaccine and are expected to administer them in the coming months.
SOURCE: AP NEWS