{"id":5592,"date":"2023-07-18T05:02:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T05:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthnewscentral.com\/?p=5592"},"modified":"2023-07-18T05:02:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T05:02:08","slug":"world-changing-malaria-vaccine-finally-approved-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthnewscentral.com\/world-changing-malaria-vaccine-finally-approved-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"World-Changing Malaria Vaccine Finally Approved In Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After undergoing 8 years of testing and trials, the highly anticipated verdict on the approval of Oxford\u2019s R21 malaria vaccine<\/a> has finally been reached.<\/p>\n

Two major economies in West Africa, Ghana and Nigeria, have granted their approval for immunizing infants aged between 5 months and 3 years. This group is the one with the highest mortality rates for malaria.<\/p>\n

Scientists have dedicated over a century to developing a malaria vaccine, and the final trial data on the R21 vaccine, involving a study of 5,000 children in Burkina Faso, has been shared with African health and drug authorities but has not yet been made public.<\/p>\n

Director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford where the vaccine was invented, Professor Adrian Hill, told BBC<\/a>, \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In preparation for its deployment in Africa, the Serum Institute in India is currently manufacturing between 100 and 200 million doses of the vaccine.<\/p>\n

Ghana is the first country to authorize its use, and it is also establishing a factory in its capital city of Accra for the production of the R21 vaccine at a cost of only a few dollars per dose.<\/p>\n

In the same BBC report, CEO of the Serum Institute, Adar Poonawalla, said, “Developing a vaccine to greatly impact this huge disease burden has been extraordinarily difficult.”<\/strong><\/em> He also added that being the first country to approve the vaccine, Ghana represents a “significant milestone in our efforts to combat malaria around the world.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This vaccine trains the body to generate \u201cvery strong\u201d levels of antibodies by introducing it to the circumsporozoite protein<\/a> coating present on 10 to 20 different malaria parasites transmitted by mosquitos. With an efficacy rating of 80%, it achieves the highest level of effectiveness with an appropriate level of safety.<\/p>\n

In addition to Ghana and Nigeria, other countries, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO)<\/a>, may follow suit in approving the vaccine. Collectively, Ghana, Nigeria, and their Francophone neighbor, Ivory Coast, account for a quarter of the continent\u2019s GDP and have a combined population of over 160 million people.<\/p>\n

See more about this life-altering vaccine in the video below:<\/p>\n