Photo by Caitlin Kleiboer
Testing the RTS/S malaria vaccine in Malawi
The world’s largest clinical trial of an experimental malaria vaccine, largely funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with the vaccine maker GlaxoSmithKline, has produced disappointing results – again.
It shouldn’t be too surprising.
The study has been producing the same disappointing results for many years now. It’s just been emphasized as progress before, with those supporting the work at the Gates Foundation and at the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative usually characterizing the vaccine’s protection rate of about 30 percent as proof of concept or as an encouraging step forward.
For example, here’s a Google News shot of how last year’s similar findings — of 30 percent protection — were characterized in the media:
Google News on the malaria vaccine
These stories were over-the-top, so I felt compelled to write Three Reasons Why We Should Not Get So Excited.
On the flip side of that coin, maybe we shouldn’t be too disappointed now. Continue reading