Malaria vaccine results present infant immunization quandary
Babies receive a battery of vaccines after they’re born to protect them against dreaded diseases such as tetanus, whooping cough and polio. Public health officials in the developing world had hoped to soon add a malaria (Plasmodium falciparum) vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule to take advantage of the existing vaccine distribution system. However, new results from a trial of the leading candidate—a shot known as RTS,S, or Mosquirix—suggests that the vaccine reduces the risk of malaria by only a third in infants. Read more