‘India unlikely to get malaria jabs soon’
National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme data says while India reported 1,018 deaths due to malaria in 2010, it saw 93 such deaths in 2020.
The development is a major advance against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people annually. The malaria vaccine, recommended by the WHO for widespread use among children in sub-Saharan Africa, is unlikely to be introduced in India any time soon, said experts.
RTS,S, known by the brand name Mosquirix, has been recommended by WHO.
National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme data says while India reported 1,018 deaths due to malaria in 2010, it saw 93 such deaths in 2020.
There has also been a decline in the overall endemicity of malaria in the country, health officials said. Dr Rajni Kant, director of ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Gorakhpur, said while the government will decide if and when to introduce the vaccines, it has not been approved for use in India. “It will be helpful for malaria control and in preventing infection, but there is not much of an impact right now,” said Dr Rajni Kant.
Dr V S Chauhan, who is known for his role in the development of a recombinant vaccine for malaria, said the vaccine has gone through all the trials but its efficacy was low.
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