A cheap malaria vaccine developed by Oxford University has been approved by the World Health Organisation and is expected to save the lives of millions of children.
The disease is estimated to have caused 627,000 deaths in 2020, mostly of small children in sub-Saharan Africa. The annual global death toll has roughly halved since 2000.
WHO officials said that Oxford’s R21/Matrix-M vaccine, used in combination with other measures such as bed nets, marked a big step towards “a malaria-free world”. The vaccine is expected to cost less than $4 a dose.
Professor Sir Adrian Hill, director of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, who led its development, said: “The vaccine is easily deployable, cost-effective and affordable, [and] ready for distribution in areas where it is needed
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