New Malaria Vaccine Increases Hopes Of Combating Child Deaths — Research

Researchers revealed new data on a malaria vaccine from Oxford University whose one booster dose maintained a high level of protection against the disease.

Scientists have expressed hopes that the jab could be produced on a massive scale in a matter of years for a global effort to combat the mosquito-borne disease that kills a child every minute.

The international research team suggested the vaccine, developed by Britain's Oxford University, could help in the fight against the mosquito-borne parasitic disease, which killed 627,000 people – mostly African children – in 2020 alone.

Last year, a different vaccine produced by British pharmaceutical giant GSK became the first to be recommended for widespread use against malaria by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has now been administered to more than a million children in Africa.

However, research has found that the effectiveness of GSK's vaccine is around 60% and significantly wanes over time, even with a booster dose.

The Oxford's R21/Matrix-M vaccine, meanwhile, was found to be 77% effective at preventing malaria.

Oxford vaccinologist and study co-author Adrian Hill said; “The vaccine meant we really could be looking at a very substantial reduction in that horrendous burden of malaria, deaths and disease in the coming years, certainly by 2030.

“A 70% reduction in deaths from malaria could be feasible in that time, partly because of the vast number of vaccine doses that could be quickly produced,”