JUST IN: Ghana Becomes First Country To Approve Oxford’s Malaria Vaccine

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Ghana has become the first country in the world to approve a new malaria vaccine developed by Oxford University, called R21.

The vaccine has shown to be highly effective in preliminary studies conducted in Burkina Faso. According to BBC reports, the vaccine was found to be up to 80% effective when administered in three initial doses and a booster a year later.

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The vaccine is aimed at benefiting children under the age of three years old. Malaria kills about 620,000 people every year, with the majority of deaths occurring among young children. The final trial data on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, which is not yet public, has been assessed by Ghana’s drug regulators, who have decided to use it. The World Health Organization is also considering approving the vaccine.

The development of a vaccine that protects the body from the malaria parasite has been a massive scientific undertaking that has spanned a century. However, the widespread use of the R21 vaccine depends on the results of a larger trial involving nearly 5,000 children. Although these trials were expected to take place at the end of last year, they have not been formally published. However, the data has been shared with some government bodies in Africa and scientists.

Other African countries are also studying the data, as is the World Health Organization. Prof Adrian Hill, the Director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford, where the vaccine was invented, said African countries are declaring “we’ll decide” after being left behind in the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic. He also expects the R21 vaccine to make a significant impact on malaria mortality in children in the coming years and contribute to the overall goal of malaria eradication and elimination.

The Serum Institute of India is preparing to produce between 100-200 million doses of the vaccine per year, with a vaccine factory being constructed in Accra, Ghana.

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Each dose of the R21 vaccine is expected to cost a couple of dollars. Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute, stated that developing a vaccine to combat malaria’s huge disease burden had been extraordinarily difficult. He added that Ghana, as the first country to approve the vaccine, represents a significant milestone in the efforts to combat malaria worldwide.