Cameroon Launches First Malaria Vaccine Program for Children

Cameroon Launches First Malaria Vaccine Program for Children

喀麦隆启动首个儿童疟疾疫苗项目

【听力音频】

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　By Bryan Lynn

　　22 January 2024

　　Cameroon has begun the world's first major malaria vaccine program for children.

　　The campaign launched Monday in the Central African nation. Health officials called the effort a major step in the fight against the disease across Africa. The continent accounts for about 95 percent of the world's malaria deaths.

　　The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the disease, which is spread through mosquitos, kills more than 600,000 people a year. Most of the deaths involve young children.

　　The vaccine, called RTS.S, was developed by British drug company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). It is meant to work with other preventive measures, such as the use of bed nets, to fight the disease.

　　Cameroon is the first country to offer vaccine injections through a routine program after successful tests, or trials, were carried out in Ghana and Kenya. Cameroon hopes to vaccinate about 250,000 children this year and next.

　　The international vaccine alliance called Gavi has said 19 other countries aim to launch their own campaigns this year. About 6.6 million children in those countries are to receive malaria vaccinations in 2024 and 2025.

　　"For a long time, we have been waiting for a day like this," said Mohammed Abdulaziz. He is with the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Abdulaziz spoke during a joint news briefing with the WHO, Gavi and other organizations.

　　Cameroon is using one of two recently approved malaria vaccines, called Mosquirix. When the WHO approved the vaccine two years ago, officials admitted it was not perfect. But they noted its use could sharply reduce severe infections and hospitalizations.

　　The GSK-produced shot is only about 30 percent effective. It requires four shots, or doses. Tests have shown the vaccine's protection begins to weaken after several months. GSK has said it can only produce about 15 million doses of Mosquirix a year.

　　Some experts believe a second malaria vaccine developed by Oxford University and approved by the WHO in October may be a better solution. That vaccine, called R21, is less costly and only requires three doses.

　　Launching the second vaccine is expected to result in enough vaccine supply "to meet the high demand and reach millions more children," said Kate O'Brien. She is the WHO's director of vaccinations.

　　"Having two vaccines for malaria will help to close the huge gap between demand and supply and could save tens of thousands of young lives, especially in Africa," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

　　India's Serum Institute – which helped develop the R21 vaccine –has said it could produce up to 200 million doses of it a year. Gavi has said that vaccine could be launched in May or June.

　　Some experts have raised questions about the long-term effectiveness of the vaccines. They have questioned whether attention and financing should be drawn away from the wider fight against the disease using established prevention methods.

　　But health experts at the news conference said the new vaccine launch included community efforts aimed at supporting the campaign. Officials advised individuals on vaccine safety and have urged them to continue to use existing protective methods alongside the vaccines.

　　I'm Bryan Lynn.

　　The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　作者：Bryan Lynn

　　2024年1月22日

　　喀麦隆已经开始了世界上首个大规模的儿童疟疾疫苗项目。

　　这项活动于周一在这个中非国家启动。卫生官员称这项努力是非洲抗击疟疾的重大步骤。非洲占全球疟疾死亡病例的大约95%。

　　世界卫生组织（WHO）估计，这种通过蚊子传播的疾病每年导致60多万人死亡。大部分死亡病例涉及到的是年幼的儿童。

　　这种疫苗名为RTS.S，由英国药企葛兰素史克（GSK）开发。它旨在与其他预防措施，如使用蚊帐，共同抗击疟疾。

　　喀麦隆是在加纳和肯尼亚进行了成功的测试或试验后，首个通过常规程序提供疫苗注射的国家。喀麦隆希望在今年和明年为大约25万名儿童接种疫苗。

　　国际疫苗联盟Gavi表示，另外19个国家计划在今年启动自己的疫苗接种活动。预计在2024年和2025年，这些国家将有约660万儿童接种疟疾疫苗。

　　"我们已经等待这样的一天很长时间了，"非洲疾病控制和预防中心的Mohammed Abdulaziz说。Abdulaziz在与世界卫生组织、Gavi和其他组织的联合新闻发布会上发表了这番话。

　　喀麦隆正在使用两种最近批准的疟疾疫苗之一，名为Mosquirix。当世界卫生组织两年前批准这种疫苗时，官员们承认它并不完美。但他们指出，使用它可以大幅减少严重感染和住院治疗的情况。

　　GSK生产的这种疫苗的有效率只有大约30%。它需要四次注射，或者说四剂。测试已经显示，疫苗的保护效果在几个月后开始减弱。GSK表示，它每年只能生产大约1500万剂Mosquirix疫苗。

　　一些专家认为，由牛津大学开发并在10月份得到世界卫生组织批准的第二种疟疾疫苗可能是一个更好的解决方案。这种疫苗名为R21，成本更低，只需要三剂。

　　世界卫生组织的疫苗部门主任Kate O'Brien表示，推出第二种疫苗预计将产生足够的疫苗供应，“以满足高需求并覆盖更多的儿童”。

　　世界卫生组织总干事Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus说：“拥有两种疟疾疫苗将有助于填补需求和供应之间的巨大差距，可能会挽救数以万计的年轻生命，特别是在非洲。”

　　协助开发R21疫苗的印度血清研究所表示，它每年可以生产多达2亿剂这种疫苗。Gavi表示，这种疫苗可能在5月或6月推出。

　　一些专家对疫苗的长期有效性提出了疑问。他们质疑是否应该将注意力和资金从使用已经建立的预防方法的更广泛的抗疾病斗争中转移出来。

　　但是在新闻发布会上，卫生专家表示，新疫苗的推出包括了旨在支持这项运动的社区努力。官员们向个人提供了关于疫苗安全性的建议，并敦促他们继续使用现有的防护方法与疫苗并行。

　　我是Bryan Lynn。

　　美联社、路透社和法新社报道了这个故事。Bryan Lynn为VOA学习英语改编了这些报道。

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　本故事中的词汇

　　bed net – n. 床帐，一种大块的交叉线材制成的材料，设计用于覆盖在床上以防止昆虫进入

　　routine – adj. 常规的，定期做的

　　gap – n. 空隙，两物之间或中间的空白或洞穴