(VOVWORLD) - A malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India prevented around three-quarters of symptomatic malaria cases in young children the first year after they got the shots, results from a large trial showed on Thursday.
The vaccine, which has already been approved for use by regulators in three West African countries and the World Health Organization, is the second to become available this year.
The first vaccine was launched in Cameroon earlier this month and was developed by the drugmaker GSK.
Both vaccines have the potential to make huge inroads against an ancient mosquito-borne disease that still kills more than half a million people, mainly young children in sub-Saharan Africa, every year.
The latest vaccine, known as R21 costs around 3 USD a dose, and more readily available.