The new R21 or Matrix M vaccine for malaria is being called a 'game changer' by medical experts.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended for use of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India (SII) after it met the required safety, quality, and effectiveness standards.
Why do we need a second vaccine against malaria?
Every minute, at least one child dies due to malaria globally. Children and infants below the age of three are the most at-risk group when it comes to malaria.
R21 is the world’s second vaccine for malaria and the first that ensures 77 percent efficacy over 12 months of follow-up. This is more than the WHO's efficacy target of 75 percent.
The first vaccine, RTS-S, was approved by the WHO in October 2021 and has been administered to over a million children since its approval. Four doses of the vaccine “reduce clinical malaria cases by 39 percent and severe malaria by 30 percent,” GAVI reported.
How does the vaccine work?
The R21 vaccine attacks the sporozoite plasmodium, targeting the disease at its base, as this is the parasite that first enters the body and spreads malaria.
Where was the research published?
R21 or the Matrix-M is the world’s second vaccine for malaria, which is being called a “game changer.”
So far, Ghana is the only country to have approved the vaccine for children between the ages of 5-36 months.
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