UN: African children should get world’s 1st malaria vaccine

By MARIA CHENG
AP Medical Writer

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization has recommended that the world’s first malaria vaccine be given to children across Africa, in a move that officials hope will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease. The WHO’s director-general called it “a historic moment” after a meeting in which two of the U.N. health agency’s expert advisory groups endorsed using the vaccine. The WHO said its decision was based on results from ongoing research in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that tracked more than 800,000 children immunized with the vaccine since 2019. Although the shot is only about 30% effective, experts said it could still significantly reduce the number of cases and deaths across Africa. Malaria kills 400,000 people a year.