Ghana first country to approve ‘world-changer’ malaria vaccine

Ghana is the first country to approve a new malaria vaccine that has been described as a “world-changer” by scientists.

The R21 vaccine appears to be hugely effective, in stark contrast to previous attempts in the same field.

The World Health Organisation is considering approving the vaccine.

Malaria currently kills around 620,000 people each year, most of them young children, and there has been a significant scientific undertaking to develop a vaccine that protects the body from the malaria parasite.

Trial data from preliminary studies showed the R21 vaccine was up to 80 per cent effective when given as three initial doses and a booster 12 months later.

Professor Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford where the vaccine was invented, said “We expect R21 to make a major impact on malaria mortality in children in the coming years, and in the longer term it will contribute to overall final goal of malaria eradication and elimination.”

Widespread use of the vaccine hinges on the results of a larger trial involving nearly 5,000 children.

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (jacquelinevance@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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