Africa welcomes new malaria vaccine as a ‘game-changer’

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — African health officials are optimistic that the world’s first malaria vaccine endorsed by the World Health Organization will “dramatically change” the way the continent of 1.3 billion people fights the disease. The new malaria vaccine is “a game-changer” in combating the disease which accounts for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in Africa, John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told on online press briefing Thursday. The WHO endorsed the vaccine on Wednesday based largely on clinical trials carried out in three African countries — Ghana, Kenya and Malawi — where more than 800,000 children have received the vaccine since 2019.