World's First Vaccine Against Malaria To Arrive Next Year, Says WHO (bbc.com) 84
An anonymous reader shares a report: The world's first vaccine against malaria will be introduced in three countries -- Ghana, Kenya and Malawi -- starting in 2018. The RTS,S vaccine trains the immune system to attack the malaria parasite, which is spread by mosquito bites. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the jab had the potential to save tens of thousands of lives. But it is not yet clear if it will be feasible to use in the poorest parts of the world. The vaccine needs to be given four times -- once a month for three months and then a fourth dose 18 months later.
Says WHO? (Score:1)
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Actually he's just "The Doctor".
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That's because he hasn't picked a name [wikia.com] yet.
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Doctor Who?
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... is on first
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what if it causes autism?
We had malaria on the ropes and nearly wiped out. Then the propaganda piece "Silent Spring" with a bunch of bad science, bad data, outright lies, and heartstring-plucking was published and picked up by environmental groups who screamed at the government to "do something!", and so they did. They worked to ban the use of DDT as widely as possible and gave malaria a reprieve. The DDT ban was based on lies and those lies and the ones who knowingly used those lies in their political/ideological causes anyway are
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... Blue Strat is lying and blustering again ...
Blue Strat is dead-on correct on this one.
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World's First Vaccine Against Malaria To Arrive Ne (Score:2)
"World's First Vaccine Against Malaria To Arrive Next Year, Says WHO "
Well aren't they going to answer that question?
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Third base.
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I asked about second, you clod!
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I DON'T KNOW!
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"World's First Vaccine Against Malaria To Arrive Next Year, Says WHO "
Well aren't they going to answer that question?
Betteridge's law suggests the answer would be "no one".
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It's like Jeopardy, you have to say the answer in the form of a question.
You must phrase your response in the form a question.
The clue is the answer.
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Wow... you must be Malawian. That's some wishful thinking calling it a "great big welfare state."
Do we call the US a great big welfare state when someone in New York tosses change in a panhandler's cup? Has about as much to do with the US government as social programs in Malawi, being funded with donor money and all. And indeed, it's fairly well accepted that fecundity drops when GDP rises and/or child mortality drops- maybe if they didn't suffer from endemic malaria, they wouldn't produce "so many babie
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Do your own homework.
deja vu (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: deja vu (Score:2, Insightful)
You seem to forget they eradicated small pox and polio even though the same corrupt leadership was there.
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They were pressured by both USA and USSR to do that and were provided with vaccines by both as well. One of these countries doesn't exist anymore and the other doesn't give a shit.
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Re:deja vu (Score:5, Informative)
This sort of resistance to humanitarian efforts has been going on for years, but we unfortunately validated it to some extent by using a sham vaccination campaign to try to track down bin Laden: How the CIA’s Fake Vaccination Campaign Endangers Us All [scientificamerican.com]. The ruse failed to provide useful intelligence and the CIA promised never to do it again, but trust is easier to destroy than it is to build.
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... and the CIA promised never to do it again, ...
Oh, well, if they *promised* ...
Network effect (Score:5, Interesting)
But even if only foreigner and rich citizens get vaccinated :
- By being vaccinated, there's a bit less risk that they (or more correctly: their mosquitoes) will transmit malaria to somebody else.
(Which would other wise would happen in the time frame between the parasite entering the body and the disease being cured by antimalaric drugs).
It won't be enough to develop herd immunity (see children viruses in developed world - at least until anti-vaxxer started messing around), but it's a tiny bit help in reducing propagation (see influenza virus in the developed world) - even if only a drop in the bucket.
- Also prevention based on vaccination of travelling foreigner, is a lot less likely than the current prevention (dosing traveller with anti-malaric drug in advance) to overload the environment with drug to the point that the parasite has pressure to mutate and develop resistance.
And this has very important long-term ecological benefits. (Less risks of drugs stopping to work eventually)
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You left out the part about the US sending CIA doctors to provide the vaccinations.
http://news.nationalgeographic... [nationalgeographic.com]
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Funny, it appears that decent life-expectancy and quality of life seems to go a long way toward fighting birthrate.
Perhaps if people don't expect their children to die young they don't feel a need to have so many of them.
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Level of female education is the strongest predictor of birth rate. But educational attainment in general is limited by conditions of extreme poverty.
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A lot of ignorant people say this (from their cushy first world armchairs) but it is a lot easier for people to improve their countries when they're not sick all the time.
Remote Vaccinations (Score:3)
My understanding is that malaria is mostly life-threatening in remote parts of Africa that don't have a resident doctor or access to quinine. It seems improbable these remote areas will have access to this vaccine if they don't have access to quinine. I imagine the vaccine needs refrigeration, which may not be available. Requiring 3 jabs a month apart and a 4th 18 months later means a traveling doctor/missionary won't be able to come through the village once and successfully vaccinate people.
I'm aware there is a strain of malaria that is becoming increasingly common, that is deadlier and resistant to quinine, maybe that's what the vaccine will be most effective in preventing.
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A vaccine that protects developed areas or non-locals in remote areas such as doctors from charities or workers building infrastructure is still immensely valuable. While they would likely survive malaria, it is not exactly a walk in the park, and some die anyway.
Good bye jungles? (Score:3)
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Note that a Malaria vaccine means we don't have to cut down the rain forests to protect people from malaria. So, this particular way of saving people can also save the rain forest....
B&M Gates foundation partially funded (Score:2)
Missing from the summary (and of possible intereste here), it seems that some of the funding was by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
http://www.afro.who.int/en/med... [who.int]
Good (Score:2)
Now also explain and make available effective contraception, or each person saved will spawn a few more to die from hunger and war two decades down the road. Messing with natural population control mechanisms is dangerous and tricky. Not saying it should not be done, but it needs to be done right or catastrophes will ensue.