The WHO recommends a revolutionary malaria vaccine for children at risk

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends widespread use of the RTS, S / AS01 (RTS, S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission. The recommendation is based on the results of an ongoing pilot program in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has covered more than 800,000 children since 2019.

“This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a discovery in science, children’s health and malaria control, ”he said. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Using this vaccine on top of existing malaria prevention tools could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”

Malaria remains the primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 260,000 African children under the age of five die of malaria each year.

In recent years, the WHO and its partners have reported stagnation in the fight against the deadly disease.

“For centuries, malaria has haunted sub-Saharan Africa, causing enormous personal suffering,” he said. Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “We have long hoped for an effective malaria vaccine, and now for the first time we ever have such a vaccine recommended for widespread use. Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent that bears the brunt of the disease, and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults. ”

WHO Recommendation for Malaria Vaccine RTS, S

Based on the advice of two WHO global advisory bodies, one for immunization and the other for malaria, the Organization recommends that:

WHO recommends that in the context of comprehensive RTS malaria control, S / AS01 malaria vaccine be used to prevent P. falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by the WHO. RTS, the malaria vaccine S / AS01 should be given in a 4-dose schedule in children 5 months of age to reduce malaria disease and burden.

Summary of key findings of malaria vaccine pilots

The key findings of the pilots reported the recommendation based on data and insights gained from two years of vaccination at child health clinics in three pilot countries, conducted under the leadership of the Ministries of Health of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Findings include:

• Possible to deliver: The introduction of the vaccine is feasible, improves health and saves lives, with good and fair coverage of RTS, S through routine immunization systems. This happened even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Reaching the unattainable: RTS, S increases equality in approach to malaria prevention.
  • Data from the pilot program showed that more than two thirds of children in 3 countries that do not sleep under the network benefit from the RTS, S vaccine.
  • Stacking tools results in more than 90% of children benefiting from at least one preventative intervention (insecticide-treated bedding or malaria vaccine).
• Strong safety profile: To date, more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in 3 African countries – the vaccine has a favorable safety profile.
• There is no negative impact on mesh adoption, other childhood vaccinations, or health-seeking behavior due to febrile illness. In areas where the vaccine was introduced, there was no reduction in the use of insecticide-treated nets, acceptance of other childhood vaccinations, or health-seeking behaviors due to febrile illness.
  
• Great impact in real child vaccination environments: Significant reduction (30%) of deadly severe malaria, even when introduced into areas where insecticide-treated nets are widely used and there is good access to diagnosis and treatment.
• Very profitable: Modeling estimates that the vaccine is cost-effective in areas of moderate to high malaria transmission.

The next steps for the malaria vaccine recommended by the WHO will include decisions by the global health community to fund a wider introduction, and national decisions on whether the vaccine will be adopted as part of national malaria control strategies.

Financial support

Funding for the pilot program was mobilized through unprecedented collaboration between three key global health funding bodies: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Unitaid.

Note to editors:

• The malaria vaccine, RTS, S, works against P. falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite in the world, and the most widespread in Africa.
• The Malaria Vaccine Implementation Program generates evidence and experience on the feasibility, impact, and safety of the RTS, S malaria vaccine in real life, routine environments in selected areas of Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.
• The pilot introduction of the malaria vaccine is led by the Ministries of Health of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
• The pilot program will continue in 3 pilot countries to understand the added value of 4^th vaccine doses and to measure the long-term impact on child death.
• The malaria vaccine implementation program is coordinated by the WHO and supported by domestic and international partners, including PATH, UNICEF and GSK, which donates up to 10 million doses of vaccine to pilots.
• The RTS, S malaria vaccine is the result of GSK’s 30 years of research and development and in partnership with PATH, with the support of a network of African research centers.
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided catalytic funding for the late development of RTS, between 2001 and 2015.