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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday recommended the widespread use of the first malaria vaccine for African children, aimed at reducing the burden of disease and saving tens of thousands of lives.
The health agency has advised a schedule of four doses of the RTS, S vaccine in children aged 5 months and older to alleviate the disease and burden of malaria.
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“This is a historic moment,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on Wednesday. “The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and the fight against malaria. Using this vaccine in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives every year.”
The mosquito-borne disease is considered one of the leading causes of infant morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 260,000 African children under 5 succumbing to the disease each year, according to the global agency. health, while about 2,000 malaria diagnoses occur in the United States each year, with most cases coming from travelers and immigrants from countries where malaria is prevalent, including many from sub-Saharan Africa and from South Asia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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“For centuries, malaria has haunted sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering,” added Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, in the statement. “We have long hoped for an effective vaccine against malaria and now, for the first time, we have such a vaccine recommended for widespread use. Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which bears the heaviest burden of disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults. “
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