Parents alongside their children in the western city of Kisumu, Kenya are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the R21 vaccine. They are used to the RTS, S vaccine known to be about 30% effective against Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite globally.
The malaria parasite is also regarded as the most prevalent in Africa. Health experts say hope is on the horizon with the R21 vaccine, whose preliminary results from early testing suggest it is far more effective than the RTS,S malaria vaccine, the only one currently authorised for use by the World Health Organisation WHO.
The slow rollout of the vaccine frustrates patients in Kenyan hospitals. A parent, Lydia Kemunto currently caring for her 6-year-old daughter, Moraa who is suffering from malaria says she would like to appeal for a drug that can stop the ailment or treatment that can help because the cost of living has gone so high.
According to the Centre for Disease Control, CDC, over 3.5 million people in Kenya come down with malaria every year, and over 10,000 die from it. In September 2019, Kenya’s National Vaccines and Immunisation Programme (NVIP), in collaboration with the Division of National Malaria Program (DNMP), provided the malaria vaccine as part of routine immunization in 26 sub-counties across eight counties in Western Kenya.
Last month, Kenya said it would expand the use of the RTS,S vaccine in an additional 25 sub-counties within the eight lake-endemic counties.
For research specialists, it is crucial to invest resources and time to develop a one-time vaccine that can manage this disease once and for all to reduce the cases of infant fatalities, says Sarafina Okoth, a mother of a 6-month-old.
According to the WHO, in 2021, there were 247 million cases of malaria, and 619,000 people died from it. In Africa, the vast majority of malaria cases occur, with 96% of all deaths in this region being among children under the age of five.
Late-stage testing of the R21 vaccine is still ongoing in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali, and Tanzania, with results expected later this year. The R21 vaccine was up to 80% effective in children vaccinated in Burkina Faso, depending on how much of an immune-boosting ingredient was included in the shots. On 13 April, Ghana became the first country to approve its rollout.