FG plans to procure malaria vaccine
Health experts said the recently approved RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine by the World Health Organisation would reduce the death of children in Africa, as the Federal Government was considering buying the vaccine.
READ ALSO: WHO Endorses world’s First Malaria Vaccine
Medical experts including a consultant parasitologist at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Prof. Wellington Oyibo, and the President of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, stated this in an interviews with newsmen.
The WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, at a news conference on Wednesday said the organisation had endorsed the RTS, S/AS01 (RTS, S) malaria vaccine for children in Africa.
The global body gave the approval following a two-year vaccine programme that involved children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
He said, “This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control.
“Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”
Henrietta/Punch
