Staff Writer
The malaria vaccine, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), was “safe and effective” and resulted in “a substantial reduction in severe malaria”.
Director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus said in a speech in New York that the new vaccination also played a role in a decrease in child fatalities.
“The RTS,S vaccine has already been administered to more than 1.6 million children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi as the first immunization against malaria. The number of children dying from malaria has significantly decreased, and it has been proven to be both safe and effective, according to Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO.
Despite this new “tool in the toolbox,” the director of immunization, vaccines, and biologicals cautioned, “it’s important to remember that a child dies from malaria nearly every minute.”
The WHO Director of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Katherine O’Brien said, “I think it’s really important to remember that a child dies of malaria almost every minute, and the introduction of malaria vaccine as another tool, an additional tool in the toolbox to fight against the severe disease, the deaths that occur, is a really essential step forward.
A rise in the number of mosquitoes carrying diseases similar to malaria is being caused by climate change, according to earlier UN studies.
