WHO Recommends new vaccines

People have started to exhibit mild adverse reactions upon hearing about the introduction of new vaccines, ignoring the fact that these vaccines save lives, and not all of them are related to the coronavirus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the Qdenga vaccine produced by Takeda Pharmaceuticals against dengue fever for children aged 6 to 16 who live in areas where this infection is a significant public health issue. Dengue fever, prevalent in tropical and subtropical climates, is a mosquito-borne viral infection. Studies have shown that the Takeda vaccine is effective against all four serotypes of the virus in individuals who have been previously infected with dengue, according to Hanna Nohynek, Chair of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. However, she added that there is some uncertainty about the vaccine's performance against serotypes 3 and 4 in individuals who have not been previously infected. The WHO's Strategic Advisory Group also recommended a simplified single-dose regimen for most COVID-19 vaccines to improve vaccine acceptance at a time when most individuals have had at least one prior infection. The agency added that any monovalent or bivalent vaccine could be used, as monovalent vaccines targeting the XBB.1.5 variant - dominant in many places this year - are not available in many countries.

Furthermore, the WHO has recommended a second vaccine for malaria prevention, a dangerous disease spread by certain mosquitoes. After RTS,S, "WHO recommends a second vaccine, called R21/Matrix-M, for the prevention of malaria in children at risk of illness," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva. R21/Matrix-M, developed by the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, is set to be launched in some African countries at the beginning of 2024 and will be available in other countries in the middle of the same year.