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January 22, 2024 at 7:10 p.m
Cameroon on Monday became the first country in the world to start a routine vaccination program against malaria. The program is expected to save the lives of tens of thousands of children in Africa each year.
It took the British drug manufacturer GSK around forty years to develop the so-called RTS,S vaccine. The vaccine must work with existing tools such as mosquito nets to combat malaria. The disease kills nearly half a million children under five in Africa every year.
After successful trials in Ghana and Kenya, among others, Cameroon is now the first country to administer doses as part of a routine vaccination program. Nineteen other countries also want to introduce the program this year, said the Gavin Vaccine Alliance.
Between 2024 and 2025, around 6.6 million children in these countries are expected to be vaccinated against malaria. “We have been waiting for a day like this for a long time,” said Mohammed Abdulaziz of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Children receive a total of four doses of the vaccine. According to American researchers, the injection is effective in at least 36 percent of cases. This means that more than one in three lives could be saved.
Image: Reuters
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