HWN Suggests

How new vaccine technologies could reduce the massive death toll from malaria

Despite decades of research, only two malaria vaccines so far have passed muster. The first to be approved has fairly low efficacy — below 30 percent for those over the age of 5 after one year — and requires a series of four shots, which makes it a challenge to administer in poor, rural areas where malaria often hits the hardest. This April, two countries provisionally approved a more effective version of this vaccine; however, the results of that immunization’s latest clinical trial have yet to be published...

There’s some reason to think that the RNA approach might produce more durable immunity against a disease like malaria. When the approach was tried in a mouse model by the…

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Featured

 'Historic moment': Why the WHO endorsed the first malaria vaccine

The move marks the start of a highly anticipated rollout for this type of vaccine, which experts say could boost the health of millions of at-risk children.

 New four-dose malaria vaccine is up to 80 percent effective

Almost one year after the historic approval of the world’s first malaria vaccine, a new vaccine called R21 showed up to 80 percent protection against the deadly mosquito-borne disease. Nearly half of the world’s population is at risk for malaria, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The most recent world malaria report found 241 million cases of malaria in 2020, with 627,000 fatalities.

 We finally have malaria vaccines. The next hurdle: Distributing them

Malaria kills half a million people a year in Africa. We can prevent that — if we act fast enough.

Articles of Interest

Africans Welcome New Malaria Vaccine. But Is It a ‘Game Changer'?

“The vaccine saves lives but it will not be a silver bullet,” said Dr. Githinji Gitahi, the chief executive officer for Amref Health Africa, a nongovernmental organization.

At Long Last, Can Malaria Be Eradicated?

Two new vaccines may finally turn back an ancient plague. But in unexpected ways, their arrival also complicates the path to ending the disease.

Historic yet imperfect: Malaria vaccine brings hope but the fight is far from over

Historic yet imperfect. That’s how I think of the World Health Organization’s recent endorsement of the long-awaited malaria vaccine, officially known as RTS,S/AS01, or simply as RTS,S.

Is new malaria vaccine ‘world-changing’? Maybe.

This new vaccine, called R21, is potentially an improved version of another vaccine, called RTS,S, which the World Health Organization approved last October for broad use in regions with significant malaria transmission. RTS,S was the first-ever vaccine for a human parasitic infection.

Malaria vaccine is a major leap forward: but innovation mustn’t stop here

The vaccine has several shortcomings. Firstly, in its current form it only works very effectively in very young children, aged between five and 17 months. These children must be given three vaccine doses, at least one month apart. A fourth booster dose is recommended at 18 months for the vaccine to work optimally. Producing an effective malaria vaccine has been challenging as the malaria parasite is able to hide from the human immune system. In addition, different forms of the malaria parasite infect the liver and red blood cells.

Malaria Vaccine That Could Save Tens of Thousands of Lives Every Year Backed by WHO

In a historic move, the World Health Organisation recommended a vaccine against malaria, ending a 100-year search for a vaccine against a disease that kills more than 500,000 people every year.

Malaria vaccines: the 60-year journey of hope and final success—lessons learned and future prospects

The world has made great strides towards beating malaria, although about half of the world population is still exposed to the risk of contracting malaria. Developing an effective malaria vaccine was a huge challenge for medical science. In 2021 the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the first malaria vaccine, RTS,S/AS01 vaccine (Mosquirix™), for widespread use.

The groundbreaking history of the world’s first malaria vaccine

A silver bullet it is not, but other malaria vaccines are likely to follow in the coming years. Birkett said: “A lot of people ask me ‘can this vaccine be used for elimination of malaria?’ For elimination, we're probably going to need a vaccine that works across all age groups, possibly with high levels of efficacy as well. So, this is really a tool targeted to younger children.” However, layered alongside other malaria prevention methods, RTS,S/AS01e could still make a major dent in the annual disease toll from malaria – particularly during those critical first five years of life, when children are at the greatest risk of death. That alone is surely enough to earn it a place in the history books.

WHO greenlights the world's first malaria vaccine — but it's not a perfect shot

The world's arsenal against malaria just got a fancy new bazooka. But it's not the easiest weapon to deploy, it only hits its target 30 to 40% of the time, and it's not yet clear who's going to pay for it.

Why developing the world’s first malaria vaccine has taken so long

Malaria, a parasitic infection transmitted by mosquitoes, is one of Africa’s deadliest diseases. Although it is treatable, the infection must be identified and the patient attended to quickly. That is difficult in the continent’s many remote rural areas. As a result malaria kills nearly 500,000 children under the age of five every year.

Why Did It Take 35 Years to Get a Malaria Vaccine?

The parasite’s complex biology played a role in the delay, but experts say there was also a lack of urgency and funding.

Widespread Testing Begins on Malaria Vaccine That Is Only Partly Effective

Dr. Katherine O’Brien, the World Health Organization’s director of immunization, called the rollout “a historic moment in the fight against malaria,” and said the testing will soon expand to malarious regions of Ghana and Kenya. But the vaccine, known as RTS,S, or Mosquirix, has been in development by GSK, the former GlaxoSmithKline, for more than 30 years, and it has serious drawbacks that have led some experts to argue that it does not work well enough to spend millions of dollars pursuing.

‘Safe and effective’: first malaria vaccine to be rolled out in 12 African countries

A long-awaited vaccine for malaria has been announced for rollout across 12 African countries over the next two years, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives. An initial 18m doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine have been assigned to the countries where the risk of children falling ill and dying from malaria is highest, according to a statement from the global vaccine alliance Gavi, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef.

Resources

Malaria Vaccine Initiative

PATH's Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) is a program of PATH(link is external), an international nonprofit organization that drives transformative innovation to save lives and improve health, especially among women and children. MVI works with partners in private industry, government, and academia to develop malaria vaccines.