Finally… historic malaria vaccine approved

Did it take too long? The vaccine could prevent malaria spreading and save thousands of lives. But it has taken more than 100 years to make. 

What’s happening? 

It’s a big day for Latif Ndeketa. When he was growing up, he was always getting sick. He missed school. He was often weak and had a fever. Latif had malaria. It is an illness that affects millions of people every year.

Now, he is grown up. He is a doctor and has a child of his own. He has spent six years working on a vaccine. Last week, it was approved by the World Health Organisation. 

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Malaria is carried by mosquitoes. Every year, 400,000 people die from it. 

The new vaccine could change this. It is not perfect. It does not work all the time. But experts say it could save 35,000 children. 

Experts have been fighting malaria for more than 100 years. They have found drugs to block the disease. Mosquito nets and bug sprays prevent bites.

So far, nothing has been perfect. Nets break and bug sprays stop working if you use them too much. 

The vaccine is the first ever. Some people say it took a long time because fighting malaria is very complex. But others say it is because rich countries are not in danger from it. The US has been free of malaria for 70 years. Now, it is worst in African and Asian countries. 

Did it take too long?

Some say no. This is a difficult job. We have to do it carefully. There must be lots of tests. We want to keep people safe as well as protecting them! To make sure this happens, we have to make sure the vaccine is safe. 

Others say yes, malaria is not a big problem for rich countries. It has not been top of the list to fix. We got a vaccine for Covid-19 in months! This has taken far too long.