Ghana is the first country in the world to approve the mass application of an immunizer against malaria, the R21 vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford.
The decision was taken this Wednesday (13/4) and regulates the vaccination of children against the disease, a measure that has been underway since 2019.
The vaccination schedule provides for four doses within a year. There is already an agreement for the purchase of 200 million doses of vaccine, which would be enough to completely immunize 50 million people.
80% effectiveness
Malaria is an endemic disease in several tropical regions of the world, including the Brazilian Amazon. per year, second data from the World Health Organizationabout 619,000 people die from the disease.
The vaccine approved in Ghana was 80% effective in the complete four-dose schedule, according to studies published in September last year.
The main symptoms of malaria are high fever, chills, tremors, excessive sweating and headache. If not treated quickly, the disease can cause seizures, bleeding and, in severe cases, death.
The disease affects an average of 150,000 Brazilians per year, according to the Ministry of Health, mostly in the North region. A Brazilian vaccine against malaria is being tested in humans.
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