The world’s first malaria vaccine has been officially approved.
The World Health Organization (WHO) approved the Mosquirix vaccine on Wednesday, October 6, 2021.
The Mosquirix vaccine is the first known vaccine for the against malaria and a parasitic disease.
It is being manufactured by British pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline.
Malaria, according to health statistics, kills around half a million worldwide annually. Most of the people who die from malaria are reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa.
The Mosquirix vaccine is to be administered in in three doses for persons between ages 5 and 17 months, and a fourth dose roughly 18 months later, with Ghana, Kenya and Malawi are leading its introduction in selected areas of moderate-to-high malaria transmission as part of a large-scale pilot programme coordinated by WHO.
Across Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, an estimated 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered, according to WHO.
The Director-General of WHO, Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a news release said “This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, children’s health and the fight against malaria”.
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