World's First Vaccine Against Malaria To Arrive Next Year, Says WHO (bbc.com)

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.

Comments

Network effect

[DrYak]

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)