Maverick Citizen
Cameroon Starts World’s First Routine Malaria Vaccine Rollout
NAIROBI, KENYA - OCTOBER 08: In this photo illustration, a person holds two vials of the Mosquirix vaccine on October 8, 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization backed the widespread rollout of the Mosquirix vaccine, which is made by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, after successful pilot programs in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. (Photo by Patrick Meinhardt/Getty Images)
Children in Cameroon have become the world’s first to get routine malaria immunizations after the Central African country adopted the World Health Organization-recommended shot.
Making a malaria vaccine has been a tricky target. The parasites that cause the deadly disease are prone to mutations that allow them to become resistant to treatments. There is also the threat that climate change will push transmission from mostly tropical areas into new regions.
Known as Mosquirix, the dose will be used along with existing methods such as bed nets and spraying indoor surfaces. It was developed by GSK Plc in partnership with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, and was trialled in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi from 2019. The shot should be given to children from the age of five months in a schedule of four doses.
A second WHO-backed malaria vaccine may be available later this year.
When will there be a vaccine for adults?