World Health Organization Approves 'Cheaper' Malaria Vaccine

The World Health Organization has recommended the use of a second malaria vaccine aimed at providing a cheaper and more accessible option for countries to combat this deadly disease. According to Tedros Adhanom, the Director-General of the WHO, the new vaccine named 'R-21', developed by the University of Oxford with the help of the Serum Institute of India, will be available in several African countries early next year and will be accessible to other countries by late 2024. Preliminary research, which has not yet completed the standard scientific review process, indicates that this three-dose vaccine is approximately 75% effective. About two years ago, the WHO recommended the widespread use of the first malaria vaccine branded 'Mosquirix'. 'Mosquirix', produced by the British pharmaceutical company GSK, requires four doses and is only about 30% effective, with its effects diminishing within a few months. The WHO states that there is not enough data to confirm whether the new Oxford vaccine is more effective. The Serum Institute of India has stated that it can produce 200 million doses of the R-21 vaccine annually, while GSK can only produce 15 million doses of Mosquirix each year. Each dose of the R-21 vaccine costs between $2 and $4, which is nearly half the price of the Mosquirix vaccine. Both vaccines use similar technologies and target a specific stage of the malaria parasite's life cycle. However, the newer vaccine is easier to manufacture as it requires fewer doses and uses a simpler adjuvant, a substance that enhances the immune response to an antigen. Experts have urged people not to see the malaria vaccine as a replacement for other preventive measures such as spraying. In Iran, over a thousand cases of malaria are identified annually, with cases quadrupling in the year 1401. The disease is typically high in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, and Kerman. In 2021, 247 million cases of malaria were recorded worldwide, resulting in 619,000 deaths, most of whom were children under five years old. Alongside the recommendation for the second malaria vaccine, the WHO also recommended the use of a dengue fever vaccine developed by the Japanese company Takeda. This vaccine, named 'Q Dengue', has been approved in the European Union and in countries where the disease is prevalent, such as Indonesia and Brazil. Dengue fever is also spread by mosquitoes in semi-tropical climates. The Aedes mosquito, which causes diseases like dengue fever, also thrives in warm regions of Iran, and outbreaks of this disease in areas like Hormozgan have made headlines multiple times, drawing attention to the quality of mosquito control and monitoring methods in Iran and the availability of sufficient funding for this task. The use of mosquito saliva to produce vaccines against malaria and other diseases poses a risk of dengue disease in Hormozgan; the Ministry of Health has stated that 'operations' for control have been carried out. Twenty days after the floods in Sistan and Baluchestan, the possibility of malaria and dangerous animal diseases spreading in Chabahar has been raised. A 'historic moment' in the fight against malaria; tens of thousands of children will be saved with the approved vaccine. COVID-19 may lead to an increase in mortality from HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.