First mass malaria vaccination campaign begins in Africa

The first malaria vaccination campaign for children backed by the World Health Organization begins in Africa on Monday, with the distribution of nearly 30mn jabs in the coming months marking a milestone in the fight against the tropical disease. Children in Cameroon will begin receiving malaria vaccines as part of a rollout of the medicine developed by UK pharmaceutical company GSK in up to 12 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. A second vaccination developed by scientists at Oxford university and produced by the Serum Institute of India is set to be delivered in seven countries in May or June. … More than 30 countries across the continent have expressed an interest in receiving malaria jabs. Up to 18mn doses of the RTS, S vaccine are being distributed by Gavi, followed by an estimated 10mn doses of the R21/Matrix-M jab across seven countries in mid-2024.