Ghana pilots the world's first malaria vaccine
The WHO announced that Ghana will be among the first three countries to pilot the malaria vaccine RTS,S. RTS,S is the first malaria vaccine to have obtained a positive scientific opinion from the European Medicines Agency, which approved RTS,S in July 2015. The vaccine will be administered via intramuscular injection and delivered through the routine national immunization programs.
The WHO pilot program, starting in 2018, will assess whether the vaccine’s protective effect in children aged 5-17 months old can be replicated in real-life. Specifically it will assess the feasibility of delivering the required four RTS,S doses, the vaccine’s potential in reducing child- hood deaths, and its safety in the context of routine use and hence inform later decisions about potential wider use of the vaccine.
The Ghana Ministry of Health will decide on the districts and regions to be included in the pilots. High malaria burden areas will be prioritized, as the benefit of the vaccine is predicted to be highest there.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and Unitaid are partnering to provide $49.2 million for the first phase of the pilots.
