Malaria Vaccine in Children: Modest Efficacy but Potential for Big Effect

With 1-3 million deaths worldwide from malaria each year, a vaccine showing even modest efficacy is good news.

Development of an effective malaria vaccine has proved difficult (see Journal Watch Infectious Diseases Jan 11 2002). Investigators supported by the Malaria Vaccine Initiative and industry recently assessed the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of a malaria vaccine candidate, RTS,S/AS02A, in a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial in 2022 children aged 1-4 years in southern Mozambique. The subunit pre-erythrocytic vaccine is based on Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite surface antigen, fused to hepatitis B antigen.

The children received RTS,S/AS02A or a control vaccine (pneumococcal, Haemophilus influenzae, or hepatitis B vaccine, depending on age) at 0, 1, and 2 months. Malnourished and ill children were excluded. Follow-up, by o…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD