Special Report: The Cost of a Malaria-Free World
Dec. 14, 2010
Reuters
Joe Cohen, a scientist tantalizingly close to delivering the world’s first malaria vaccine, is on the stump.
After 23 years of painstaking laboratory work and a program of major trials in seven countries, the 67-year-old biologist says the clinical case for the vaccine is almost proved. It’s a breakthrough moment that could save hundreds of thousands of lives, but when it comes to public health in the developing world, Cohen knows hard science is only half the job. That’s why the softly spoken U.S.-Italian researcher found himself one chilly December evening pitching his life’s work to rich-world politicians whose voters will have to foot the bill, and fielding questions over festive mince pies and wine in a leather and oak-clad room in London’s Houses of Parliament.
How cost-effective will the vaccine be compared to tried and tested low-tech approaches like mosquito nets and insecticides, one inquirer asks. Is there any evidence that it will bring down the spread of the disease in general, helping those who haven’t been vaccinated? How long is a shot likely to stay effective? Is there a danger it might foster a false sense of security? As the session goes on, it’s clear that enthusiasm for Cohen’s work is coupled with wariness among the experts and well-informed lawmakers. The bottom-line question: is the vaccine — and the global health community’s aim of completely eradicating a disease that kills a child every 45 seconds — really worth the money
Similar Posts:
- Several Students Required To Receive Whooping Cough Vaccine
- Caravaning Camping Checklist of Essentials
- Home Sick Home? Architect Goes After Tuberculosis In Haiti
- Aussies Take Step Toward Vaccine for Type 1
- Vaccines for plague, bacterial pneumonias ‘closer to reality’
Comments
No comments yet.