Scientific Breakthrough and Wellness- How the Discovery of a Malaria Vaccine Advances Our Understanding

Scientific Breakthrough and Wellness- How the Discovery of a Malaria Vaccine Advances Our Understanding

One of the most widely anticipated discoveries within the healthcare field that has happened in the last six months is the discovery of a malaria vaccine after close to 35 years of research. Developed by one of the most reputable pharma in the business, i.e., GlaxoSmithKline, Mosquirix (brand name of the vaccine) will significantly reduce the mortality and morbidity rate that accompanies the spread of this infectious disease. Epidemiological statistics by the World Health Organization indicate that close to half a million individuals succumb to Malaria on an annual basis. Of concern is that half of these fatalities are children (BBC, 2015).

What is even more encouraging from this discovery is that even though GSK spent a staggering $750 million for the research of the vaccine, the board of the organization has pledged that it does not intend to profit from Mosquirix’s discovery. This is undoubtedly great news for Sub-Saharan African residents as they are more exposed to Malaria and face immense disparity when it comes to accessing treatment for the condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Malaria imposes significant costs at both the individual and the governmental levels. Some of the costs to individuals and their families include the purchase of medications, travel expenses, and lost days of work (CDC, 2021). Some of the costs to the government include the supply and staffing of hospitals, such as the purchase of anti-malarial and other supplies, public health interventions for fighting Malaria, as well as lost days of work arising from income. Consequently, the CDC estimates that the direct costs linked to Malaria may be upward of $12 billion per year. The cost in terms of lost economic growth is estimated to be many times more than that.

References

BBC. (2015). Malaria vaccine gets “green light.” BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-33641939

CDC. (2021). CDC – Malaria – Malaria Worldwide – Impact of Malaria. Www.cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/malaria_worldwide/impact.html#:~:text=Direct%20costs%20(for%20example%2C%

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Search the internet for a recent news event (i.e., within the last six months) about scientific advances in supporting wellness. The event should come from a well-known news source, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, NPR, PBS, BBC, National Geographic, The New York Times, etc. Post a link to the news story, and in your initial post, identify the following:

Summarize your news story and its contributions to the science or STEM fields.
If your news event is overtly related to wellness, how does this event contribute to wellness studies? If your news event does not directly relate to wellness, how could the science behind your event be applied to wellness studies?