Another vaccine from Oxford’s Jenner Institute and one that may have a greater impact than that against Covid-19. Results from trials of its malaria vaccine, R21, show it to be 77% effective. If replicated in larger scale trials, it would be a remarkable breakthrough. Malaria kills more than 400,000 people a year, almost all in sub-Saharan Africa, and mainly children. Until now, the only approved anti-malarial vaccine, Mosquirix, has had a low level of efficacy – among young children it reduced cases by 39%; in infants, says the World Health Organization, it “did not work sufficiently well to justify its further use”.
This is what makes the new vaccine so exciting, raising the possibility of reducing deaths to the “tens of thousands”. The reason for slow progress in eradicating malaria is partly technical. The parasite that causes the disease, of which there are five kinds, passes through several life stages, making it more difficult to target with a vaccine.
Even without vaccines, one can eliminate the disease. A century ago, malaria was endemic in parts of America. In the 1930s, Washington launched an eradication programme, draining mosquito breeding areas and improving health services. By 1950, it had almost disappeared. In 1955, WHO launched a global anti-malaria programme, but excluded sub-Saharan Africa for logistical reasons. It was highly successful in Europe, parts of Asia and the Americas but was suspended in 1969 because of drug and insecticide resistance and funding shortages.
As with many diseases of poor countries, the problem lies with a lack of resources and political will. That is why the new vaccine carries with it so much hope. Something to celebrate on World Malaria Day.
• Kenan Malik is an Observer columnist
