We’re hearing a lot in the news these days about vaccines against COVID. But there’s good news too for a jab that could stop a disease that’s been doing a lot of harm for very much longer.
Scientists at Oxford University in England have just reported a big success with a new vaccine against malaria. That’s the disease which is spread by mosquitoes. It’s mainly a problem in Africa, and it’s caused by those little flies biting people in the night to sip their blood.
The Oxford researchers found that if people had a injection of their vaccine they were much less likely to develop malaria. It was 77 percent effective.
More than 200 million people get malaria every year and about 400,000 of them – mostly young children – die of it. Nearly all of them live in Africa.
People can use nets over their beds to keep off mosquitoes. But the vaccine, which helps your body fight off the disease, is a huge cause for hope.
| Check out… In May last year we told you about how scientists in Kenya had found a way to stop mosquitoes spreading malaria. It was especially good that they did it without killing the mosquitoes – because the mosquitoes are an important food for birds, fish and other creatures in Africa. |
