A malaria vaccine is an oral vaccine that's used to prevent malaria from spreading to people. The only currently approved malaria vaccine as of today is RTS, R, formulated by the same brand name Mosquirax. It usually takes four injections, has low efficiency, and takes about six weeks for it to become complete.
The advantages of these malaria vaccines are manifold. The most notable benefit is that they are highly effective. This is proven through clinical trials. In clinical trials, volunteers who were given the placebo showed higher efficacy against flaviviruses than those who were administered the real thing. Likewise, the efficacy of the real thing was found to be similar to that of the placebo.
Malaria Vaccines are given individually or in combination with other malaria vaccines. It is recommended that an adequate amount of immunity is built up before administering a Malaria vaccine. This can be done by taking vitamin supplements, which are known to boost immunity. However, these supplements may not be sufficient as long as one lives in areas where there continue to be malaria transmissions. If one lives in a region that has received a vaccination and if there are no new transmissions, then it would be advisable to administer the Malaria vaccine. However, experts recommend that one should wait until the current outbreak is over to administer any such vaccine.
Currently, there are only two malaria vaccines - Ribavirin and Mefloquine - in the phase I development stage. The first one, who had received an initial dose of Mefloquine, tested negative during the early phase. The second one also received a second dose, performed well. Hence, it is believed that these two vaccines will perform similarly in the later phases. Recently, in April 2021, the researchers from the University of Oxford announced the findings from the Phase IIb trial of a candidate malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M, demonstrating high-level efficiency of 77% over 12-months of follow-up.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has now recommended the use of the first-ever Malaria Vaccine, RTS, S, also known as Mosquirix.
The Organization says it should be deployed for children in sub-Saharan Africa and other areas where malaria transmission is moderate to high.
The announcement is the footsteps of huge vaccine advancements around the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is noteworthy that RTS, S isn’t an mRNA vaccine, which has the potential to make an even bigger impact on malaria and other diseases that have affected humans for ages.
The WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a statement and said, “This is a historic moment.
The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health, and malaria control Read more....
According to WHO, India made strong progress in the fight against malaria, recording the largest reduction in cases in South-East Asia from 20 million in 2000 to about 5.6 million last year.
