Malawi has started immunizing kids as part of a massive, first-ever campaign against malaria.
Pharmaceutical corporation GSK created the RTS,S vaccine, which has been under development for more than three decades.
Only slightly more than 30% of the five to 17-month-olds who received it were protected, early trials indicate.
However, Malawi is certain that it will continue to play a significant part in the fight against the illness, which killed almost 2,500 infants there two years ago.
“We’re well aware of its poor effectiveness… The manager of the nation’s national malaria control program, Dr. Michael Kayange, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa that no single initiative can completely eradicate malaria.
We don’t claim that the malaria vaccine has made malaria a thing of the past, but it is a tool in that direction.
Since ancient times, malaria has been one of the worst scourges on humanity, primarily taking the lives of newborns and children.
However, Africa is disproportionately affected by the disease, which is caused by parasites spread by the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes: in 2020, the continent reported 95% of malaria cases and 96% of malaria deaths.
According to the World Health Organization, over 80% of all malaria deaths in Africa occurred in children under the age of five.
Even in the most rural areas of the nation, all children under five will be immunized, according to Dr. Kayange’s new immunization drive.
11 of the 28 districts in the nation will be covered in the first phase, which is estimated to result in the immunization of 330,000 youngsters.
