Therapists and anti-Malaria specialists have a smile on their faces after the approval of the use of the Malaria vaccine.
The vaccine - called RTS, S - was confirmed to be effective six years ago.
The announcement from the World Health Organization (WHO) is good news for the African continent, which has been hit hard by the malaria epidemic.
It has been an attempt to find the vaccine for 100 years. But why did it take so long?
After witnessing the world develop Covid vaccines in the shortest possible time, you may wonder why it has taken so long to develop a malaria vaccine?
Malaria is caused by a parasite that is unique and more flexible than the virus that causes Covid. Comparing the two is like comparing a person to a cabbage.
Malaria parasites have evolved to evade our immune system. That's why you must get malaria regularly before you can start getting any immunizations.
It has complex systems and systems in two species (humans and mosquitoes), and even within our body, it has a chronic characteristic as it infects liver cells and red blood cells.
Creating a malaria vaccine is like a gel on the wall with RTS, S only can target the parasitic sporozoite form (this is the point between mosquito bites and parasites reaching the liver).
That is why the vaccine has only '40% effectiveness. However, this is still an amazing achievement and provides a way to develop more powerful vaccines.
The results of the initial trials were discussed by two groups of experts at the WHO on Wednesday.
Results, from more than 2.3 million doses, showed:
• The vaccine was safe and still resulted in a 30% reduction in severe malaria
• It reached more than two-thirds of children who do not have bed nets inside
• There were no side effects to other common vaccines or other malaria prevention measures
• The vaccine was cheap
