One of the most terrifying diseases today is malaria. It is the greatest fear of any tropical resident or visitor. In 2020, 241 million people caught this mosquito-borne ailment, and 47,000 of them died. It kills a child every minute. It is truly a terrible disease, and yet, scientists have not been able to protect against it. Sure, it can be treated, but that is post-diagnosis - not preventative
Until now.
Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that, after decades of research and testing, they had a vaccine to malaria. They promised that this was a historic development in the battle against the disease, saving thousands - millions - of lives. The WHO says that the “vaccine is safe and feasible to deliver, and that it substantially reduces deadly severe malaria.” More than a million children have already been fully or partially inoculated, keeping them off the casualty list. Dream come true, right?
Unfortunately, news provider Reuters says that the drug company responsible for producing the vaccine, GSK, is unable to keep up with demand. “A GSK spokesperson told Reuters that it could not make enough of its vaccine Mosquirix to meet the vast demand without more funds from international donors” they reported.
Despite that, it is still a glimmer of hope in the face of a terrifying disease.