Millions of deaths from malaria will be prevented by a breakthrough vaccine developed by Oxford University.
Scientists say global fatalities from the disease could be slashed by 70% following successful trials of four doses of the new jab.
Toddlers given a final booster of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine from Oxford’s Jenner Institute met the World Health Organisation target of at least 75% protection.
Prof Adrian Hill, director of the research centre, said: “People have been trying to make malaria vaccines for over a century. Some 140 vaccines have been into arms. We think these data are the best data yet.
“This is a vaccine that we think can be manufactured and deployed very widely.”
Half the world’s population lives in areas at risk of malaria across 87 countries. Some 241million malaria cases were recorded in 2020 with the World Health Organisation estimating it caused more than 640,000 deaths.
The WHO recommended last year use of the world’s first malaria vaccine.
But its effectiveness was low at just 40% protection against infection and 30% protection against serious disease when given to infants aged from 17 months to 25 months.
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When administered with other newborn jabs between weeks six and 12 weeks, protection against severe malaria was close to zero.
But the new vaccine, which can be produced for a few pounds per dose, is likely to be available by the end of next year.
Prof Hill added: “We could be looking at a very substantial reduction in malaria deaths and disease by 2030. That’s our goal, maybe a 70% reduction in deaths.”
The findings are published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
