Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 22nd Dec. World health agency on Thursday has called a second malaria vaccine which has been recommended for use called the development “a significant milestone in prevention of the disease”.
WHO has added the R21/Matrix-M vaccine – developed by Oxford University and manufactured by Serum Institute of India – to its list of prequalified vaccines.
It said that prequalification means that countries will have larger access to vaccines that can prevent malaria in children, with the help of UNICEF and Gavi, the vaccine alliance.
The first malaria vaccine to get WHO prequalification was the RTS,S vaccine, which obtained this status in July 2022.
Both vaccines were shown to be safe and effective in trials to prevent malaria in children and are expected to have a high public health impact when used alongside other recommended prevention measures. WHO stated.
Malaria is spread by mosquitoes and more than 608,000 people in 85 countries died from it in 2022.
It is a high burden on children in Africa, where nearly half a million youngsters die from the disease each year, it added.
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