The results of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine experiment from the University of Oxford give rise to hope. After a single booster dose, this serum would give a high level of protection, of the order of 70 to 80%.
Nearly 627,000 deaths from malaria in 2020
The malaria or malaria is a parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. It is manifested by fever, headache and muscle aches. About 627,000 people, mostly African children, succumbed to the disease in 2020, reports Le Figaro.
Soon a vaccine produced on a large scale?
The positive experience of a vaccine against the malaria (R21/Matrix-M) developed by scientists at the University of Oxford raises hopes of mass deployment. According to an international research team in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseasesthis serum could be a turning point in the fight against the disease.
Experimentation on hundreds of children
The study was conducted in Burkina Faso in 2019, on 450 children aged 5 to 17 months. They were divided into 3 groups. Two received different doses of the adjuvant Matrix-M and the third control group received a vaccine against rabies. They then returned to receive a reminder ahead of the 2020 rainy season, when cases of malaria increase.
High level of protection
The results of the phase 2 trial, published this Thursday, September 8, are rather encouraging. The effectiveness of vaccine in the group that received the highest dose of adjuvant rose to 80%. It was, on the other hand, 70% for the lowest dose. But after a single booster dose, the level of protection conferred by the the oxford serum is always high.
> WHO recommends mass deployment of first malaria vaccine in children