A health expert has advised Africans to embrace preventive measures against Malaria.
In the latest health news in Nigeria, WHO Recommends Historic Malaria Vaccine for Use.
Professor Siminialayi Iyeopu said that the newly approved vaccine is only 70 per cent effective.
Iyeopu who is also a former director of the Centre for Malaria Research and Phytomedicine at the University of Port Harcourt maintained that the standard preventive measures for malaria should still be upheld.
Our news sources had hinted at the approval of the Malaria Vaccine by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday.
WHO had endorsed the use of the RTS, S/AS)1 malaria vaccine for the treatment of malaria in Africa.
The WHO said that the groundbreaking vaccine had reached more than 800,000 children in three African countries since 2019.
Also read Shocking! Nigeria Records Thousands Of COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effect Cases
The result was pulled from an ongoing research programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
In a report obtained from PUNCH HealthWise, the Professor urged people to take preventive malaria drugs.
His words: “The standard measures people take to prevent malaria should still be retained. Just like we are taking precautions for COVID-19 until the entire community develops resistance to the disease.
“It will take a while for us to achieve that with malaria. Especially given that this vaccine is not up to 70% efficient, we still need to take those measures.
“The vaccine is not 100 per cent protective but it is effective in preventing severe malaria disease.
“Efficacy has been proven but it is not 100 per cent though it doesn’t need to be 100 per cent. Malaria right now kills over 400,000 people a year.
“So, anything that can prevent that disease, particularly among children who suffer the most mortality from malaria is a welcome development.
We can only get better in developing more effective vaccines but right now we have something we can hold on to.”
Professor Iyeopu compared the Malaria vaccine with COVID-19 drugs. He maintained that despite both innovations, cautions should be taken.
His words: “It is like the situation with the new drug for the treatment of COVID-19.
“Anything that can prevent 50 per cent of deaths in COVID-19 is a wonder drug. So, in the same manner, anything that can prevent severe disease even if it’s just 30 per cent is a welcome development. This is why we welcome the vaccine for the prevention of malaria.”
