Prognosis
First Malaria Vaccine Advances After Decades of Work
- WHO recommendation for use in children marks a turning point
- Focus shifts to rollout of shot developed by GlaxoSmithKline
Photographer: Olympia de Maismont/AFP/Getty Images
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The first vaccine for malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills 400,000 people each year, is set to be deployed more widely after more than three decades of work and about $1 billion in investment.
The vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and its partners won a recommendation from the World Health Organization on Wednesday for use in children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high transmission. It marks a turning point in a battle against the parasite that causes malaria.