It’s said to be a “transformative chapter in Africa’s public health history”. The RTS, S vaccine – 662,000 doses of it – will be administered to children in the West African country, the first to be vaccinated after successful trials of the drug in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi between 2019 and 2021. It marks a scaling up of the fight against malaria in Africa, where 95% of deaths from the disease occur, most among children under five. Public health experts say communication with the public will be crucial to the vaccine’s success – to ensure that it is trusted, that people bring their children back for all four doses, and that people understand it will be most effective when combined with other measures, such as sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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