EXPERTS URGE MALARIA VACCINE FOR AFRICAN KIDS

NAIROBI/DAKAR The World Health Organization said on Wednesday the only approved vaccine against malaria should be widely given to African children, potentially marking a major advance against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people annually.

The WHO recommendation is for RTS,S, or Mosquirix, a vaccine developed by British drugmaker Glaxosmithkline.

Since 2019, 2.3 million doses of Mosquirix have been administered to infants in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in a large-scale pilot coordinated by the WHO. The majority of those whom the disease kills are aged under five.

“This is a vaccine developed in Africa by African scientists and we’re very proud,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “This vaccine is a gift to the world but its value will be felt most in Africa.”