The world's first and only malaria¹ vaccine² was launched in the African country of Malawi on Tuesday.

 

世界上第一批且是唯一一批疟疾疫苗周二在非洲马拉维投入使用。

 

Thirty years in the making, RTS,S is the first and to date the only vaccine that has demonstrated it can significantly reduce malaria in children, according to the WHO.

 

In clinical trials, the vaccine was found to prevent about four in ten malaria cases, including three in ten cases of life-threatening severe malaria.

 

Malawi is the first of three in Africa where RTS,S is to be made available to children up to two years of age. Ghana and Kenya will introduce the vaccine in the coming weeks.

 

According to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, despite tremendous gains from bed nets and other measures to control malaria in the last 15 years, progress has stalled and even reversed in some areas. The vaccine may serve as a new solution that will potentially save tens of thousands of children's lives.

 

While celebrating the launch of the vaccine, the WHO also reminds that it's a complementary malaria control tool added to the core package of WHO-recommended measures for malaria prevention, including the routine use of insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor spraying with insecticides, and the timely use of malaria testing and treatment.

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