The Ivory Coast has taken a significant step in the fight against malaria by launching a routine vaccination program using the world’s second malaria vaccine. Developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, the R21 vaccine has been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is set to be introduced in 15 African countries this year.
The rollout of this second vaccine marks a major milestone in the global effort to combat malaria, a disease that claims the lives of nearly half a million children under the age of five in Africa each year. The vaccine is designed to work alongside existing tools such as bed nets to provide added protection against the deadly disease.
Ivory Coast has received over 650,000 doses of the R21 vaccine, which will initially be administered to 250,000 children aged between 0 and 23 months. The Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the vaccine, has committed to scaling up production to 100 million doses annually to meet the high demand for the shots.
Results from a large trial showed that the R21 vaccine prevented around three-quarters of symptomatic malaria cases in young children in the first year after vaccination. While demand for the vaccine is expected to exceed supply for several years, experts believe that having safe and effective malaria vaccines is crucial in the ongoing fight against the disease.
The launch of the R21 vaccine in Ivory Coast is a significant step forward in the global effort to eradicate malaria and save lives in Africa and beyond.
