Health & Beauty

According to the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO) on October 6, based on the results of the projects in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, it is recommended to take comprehensive measures to control malaria in sub-Saharan Africa and other malignant diseases. In areas with moderate to high levels of malaria transmission, children over 5 months of age will receive 4 doses of RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine (hereinafter referred to as "RTS, S vaccine") to reduce malaria and reduce the burden of disease.

This vaccine is the world's first approved malaria vaccine, and this is the first time that WHO recommends a malaria vaccine.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros said that this is a historic moment. The childhood malaria vaccine is a major breakthrough in the fields of science, child health and malaria control. Using this vaccine in combination with existing malaria prevention tools can save tens of thousands of children's lives every year.

The vaccine was developed by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). According to the official website of GlaxoSmithKline, RTS, S vaccine, also known as MosquirixTM, is a malaria vaccine developed in cooperation with PATH MVI.

In July 2015, the RTS, S vaccine received a positive scientific evaluation from the European Medicines Agency's Committee on Human Use. GSK has promised that the final price of the vaccine will be slightly increased by 5% on the basis of production costs for the development of second-generation malaria vaccines or other tropical disease vaccines. Earlier, according to Reuters, GSK promised to produce 15 million doses of malaria vaccine each year by 2028.

The Associated Press reported on the 7th that although the effectiveness of this vaccine is only about 30%, scientists still said that the approval of this vaccine is "a major step forward" for humans to fight malaria and will "save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children." ".

According to the official website of WHO, the data and results of the previous two-year vaccination program carried out in children's clinics in three pilot countries show that even during the new crown epidemic, more than 90% of children benefited from at least one preventive tool ( Insecticide-treated mosquito nets or malaria vaccines). During the project, more than two-thirds of children who did not sleep under mosquito nets were vaccinated with the RTS, S vaccine. Since 2019, more than 800,000 children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have been vaccinated with the vaccine. More than 2.3 million doses have been vaccinated, and it can be judged that the vaccine has good safety.

In areas vaccinated with RTS, S vaccines, even in areas where insecticide-treated mosquito nets are widely used and have good diagnosis and treatment opportunities, the fatal and severe cases of malaria have been significantly reduced by 30%. In addition, other clinical evidence of the RTS, S vaccine shows that in areas with strong malaria seasonality, prior to the high malaria season, the implementation of malaria control interventions while strategically providing RTS, S vaccine can optimize the impact of malaria and significantly reduce deaths. Rate.

And the emergence of the vaccine did not have a negative impact on the use of mosquito nets, children's vaccination with other vaccines, or fever seeking medical treatment. Simulation estimates show that the vaccine is cost-effective in areas with moderate and high levels of malaria transmission.

The WHO said that by 2023, the pilot will continue to be conducted in three pilot countries to understand the added value of the fourth dose of the vaccine and measure the long-term impact on child deaths.

According to the WHO, despite considerable progress in expanding insecticide-treated mosquito nets, deploying chemopreventive methods, and adopting highly effective treatments, malaria is still the leading cause of disease and death in children in sub-Saharan Africa, with approximately 94% of deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. Every year, more than 260,000 African children under the age of five die from malaria. In 2019, an estimated 409,000 people died of malaria globally. However, severe malaria has been significantly reduced in areas where RTS, S vaccines are vaccinated, and additional malaria prevention has been provided for young children. WHO’s recommendations will ensure that more children living in areas with moderate to high transmission can benefit from such life-saving interventions.

According to the Global Network report, Clark, an expert at the Malaria Center of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that for countries that cannot use existing malaria prevention and control methods, such as mosquito nets and insecticides, the malaria vaccine is more effective; Nepal predicts that vaccinating children with this vaccine will reduce the overall number of malaria infections and deaths in Africa by 30%, which means that it will reduce up to 8 million malaria infections and 40,000 deaths each year.

The WHO and its partners pointed out that in recent years, malaria control has stagnated. Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said that for hundreds of years, malaria has been a nightmare in sub-Saharan Africa, causing great suffering to people. Now, for the first time in history, WHO recommends the widespread use of malaria vaccines, bringing a glimmer of hope to the African continent, which bears the heaviest burden of malaria.