The Ministry Of Health Is In Consultation With WHO And Experts To Develop A Malaria Vaccine In Indonesia

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JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemkes) held consultations with the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss the world's first malaria vaccine recommended by WHO, namely the RTS,S vaccine. malaria in Indonesia, as well as with BPOM (Food and Drug Supervisory Agency) to be able to respond to the findings of a new vaccine that is effective against malaria," said the Director of Prevention and Control of Vector Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses of the Ministry of Health, Dr. dr. Didik Budijanto, MKes when contacted by Antara, in Jakarta, Tuesday, October 12. According to Didik, it is necessary to conduct clinical trials in Indonesia to see its effectiveness in the country if we can access the RTS,S vaccine. we can access the new vaccine, while waiting for the vaccine made by Indonesian researchers," he said. According to Didik, the malaria vaccine can help reduce mortality in high endemic areas. "This vaccine will greatly help reduce malaria deaths in high endemic areas," he said.

Didik said the malaria vaccine can be used for groups of infants under five years old (toddlers) in high endemic areas, who are most vulnerable to malaria deaths. because this group does not have resistance to malaria. "This vaccine is a very useful additional intervention in addition to our continuous efforts to reduce malaria and eliminate it," said Didik. Previously, WHO recommended the use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine. ) widely among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high transmission of malaria, caused by the Plasmodium (P) falciparum parasite. These recommendations are based on results from ongoing pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, which has reached more than 800,000 children since 2019. WHO recommends that in Comprehensive malaria control text, RTS,S malaria vaccine is used for the prevention of P falciparum malaria in children living in areas with moderate to high transmission. The RTS,S malaria vaccine should be given in four doses to children from five months of age to reduce malaria disease and burden. The RTS,S malaria vaccine is the result of 30 years of research and development by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and in partnership with PATH, with support from a network of African research centres.